Tag: Brandon McManus

Broncos still monitoring kickers even after signing Elliott Fry

Even after signing Elliott Fry, the Broncos will continue to monitor the kicker market in the coming months.

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After releasing veteran Brandon McManus in a move that saved $3.75 million in salary cap space, the Denver Broncos brought in three kickers for workouts and ultimately ended up signing Elliott Fry to a one-year deal.

Fry is currently the only kicker on the 90-man roster, but that doesn’t guarantee that he will be the team’s kicker in Week 1 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Speaking after an OTA practice on Thursday, Broncos coach Sean Payton indicated that the team will be watching kickers on other teams in addition to watching Fry this summer.

“Look, that’s not the only position we’re going to keep looking at,” Payton said. “One of the things that I learned early on which was interesting — and Bill Parcells taught me this — when he would talk to the team, he would say, ‘Don’t pay attention to the depth chart, just in your meeting room,’ If you’re a safety and you’re just looking at the other strong safety — you’re competing against the other 31 teams’ safeties, as well, because one might become available.

“We had a kicking battle one year in New Orleans with two guys and man, [the media] all charted it each day during training camp. It was either/or. This went on and on, and it was one of those battles where I don’t know if I was any clearer after four weeks than I was when it began. They both did good things, and then had days maybe they weren’t as good. Then the final cut down takes place at 53 and I get a call from someone I know well with another staff that thinks he’s got two kickers.

“We bring him in on Monday, work him out, and we sign neither of the two in the kicking battle. So don’t pay attention to the line in front of you or the room you’re in. You’re competing with yourself to put your best product on the field because there’s 31 other teams that might be deeper in a position and that you have availability for. So we’ll talk about that.”

Payton has a history of moving on from kickers quickly. He went through nine different kickers in his first ten years with the New Orleans Saints before landing on Wil Lutz.

As other teams begin making roster cuts later this summer and more kickers become available, Denver will undoubtedly be tracking the waiver wire. Fry could end up being the team’s Week 1 kicker, but the Broncos haven’t ruled out the possibility of looking elsewhere this summer.

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Broncos get salary cap relief from post-June 1 designation for Brandon McManus

The Broncos saved some extra salary cap space by designating the Brandon McManus cut as a post-June 1 release.

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The Denver Broncos parted ways with Brandon McManus on May 23, but the team officially designated the move as a post-June 1 transaction. (He has since signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.)

Doing so will give the team extra salary cap relief by spreading out the kicker’s “dead money” salary cap hit over two years instead of one.

The Broncos will eat $1,231,250 worth of dead money this season with a net cap savings of $3.75 million, according to OverTheCap.com. Our rough math suggests that will leave the team with about $10,873,976 in total salary cap space for the 2023 season.

Denver will use a portion of that cap space for new kicker Elliott Fry, and the team will want to keep the rest available for potential in-season signings. Any cap space the Broncos do not use this year will roll over and increase the team’s 2024 cap limit.

Denver will also want to save some cap space for future extensions — Garett Bolles, Justin Simmons, Tim Patrick, D.J. Jones, Jerry Jeudy, Quinn Meinerz, Baron Browning, Caden Sterns, Jonathon Cooper and Javonte Williams are among the team’s players scheduled to become free agents in 2025.

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Broncos signing kicker Elliott Fry to 1-year contract

The Broncos are replacing former kicker Brandon McManus with Elliott Fry.

The Denver Broncos are signing kicker Elliott Fry, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero first reported on Wednesday afternoon. The Broncos later confirmed the news.

To make room for Fry on the 90-man offseason roster, Denver waived running back Tyreik McAllister.

Fry (6-0, 172 pounds) entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina with the Chicago Bears in 2019. He went on to spend time with nine other teams, appearing in three regular-season games from 2019-2020. In his career, Fry is 5-of-6 on field goal attempts with a long of 44 yards. Fry is 5-of-7 on extra point attempts in his career.

Fry will replace Brandon McManus, who was released by the team on May 23. McManus has since signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Fry was among three kickers — joining Brett Maher and Parker White — who worked out for the team last week.

Elsewhere on the free agency front, undrafted running back Emmanuel Wilson signed with the Green Bay Packers after he was cut by the Broncos earlier this month.

Another undrafted player who went to Denver’s rookie minicamp, wide receiver Josh Johnson, has signed with the Barcelona Dragons of the European League of Football.

Meanwhile, former Broncos guard Dalton Risner and cornerback Ronald Darby remain unsigned free agents.

Fry should arrive in time for the team’s second week of organized team activities, which are set to kick off today.

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Brandon McManus explains why he called the Jaguars as a free agent

Brandon McManus is excited to be joining an “up and coming” team.

Brandon McManus is happy to be the newest member of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The former Denver Broncos kicker was so interested in joining the team that he tracked down the phone number of Jaguars special teams coordinator Heath Farwell and gave him a call after he became a free agent.

“I loved Heath and I loved our conversation, but I don’t know that he was the draw,” McManus said Tuesday after his first practice with the Jaguars. “This team is up and coming, a lot of young roster here. A phenomenal run to close out the season last year as AFC South champions and then an incredible comeback in the playoff game.

“I’m a big fan of Doug Pederson as well, what he was able to do in Philadelphia, win a Super Bowl. A lot of that culmination here, obviously it’s a beautiful place to live here in Jacksonville, Florida. And Heath was a bonus. It’s always nice to like your boss.”

McManus, 31, said he didn’t exactly call the Jaguars blindly. After finding out that general manager Trent Baalke had expressed interest to his agent, McManus tracked down Farwell’s phone number by reaching out to Joe DeCamillis, a veteran special teams coach who had stints with the Broncos and Jaguars.

In nine seasons with the Broncos, McManus made 40 field goals from at least 50 yards and 223 total field goals.

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Where does Brandon McManus rank among Broncos’ all-time best kickers?

Where does Brandon McManus rank among the all-time best kickers in Denver Broncos history? Here’s our list.

The recent departure of kicker Brandon McManus has brought to mind other Denver Broncos kickers from the past, and where McManus ranks among them. Broncos Wire looks back at five of the best Broncos kickers of all time.

Brandon McManus called the Jaguars to ask for a contract

Brandon McManus called the Jaguars to express his interest after he became a free agent.

The Jacksonville Jaguars haven’t been a top-tier destination for free agents in a long time, but that has changed, as of late. After winning the AFC South and a playoff game last season, expectations are now pretty high for the team heading into the 2023 season.

So much so that kicker Brandon McManus called the Jaguars to ask if he could get a spot on the roster when he became a free agent earlier this month.

“Brandon reached out to me, so he’s a guy who wanted to play here,” Jaguars special teams coordinator Heath Farwell told reporters Tuesday morning. “I think that just kind of gives you a picture of where the culture has gone. We have players who are free agents after getting released saying ‘Hey coach, I would love to play here.’ It’s just a testament to what Coach [Doug] Pederson has done, what the overall team is like.

“So it’s a guy who wanted to be here and then it was an opportunity to get better as a group. Riley [Patterson] did a really good job, but [McManus] is a guy who gives us a lot more flexibility, not only on kickoffs to pin them deep and do different things, but it gives us a longer kickoff line on Sundays.”

Farwell said he didn’t have much of a pre-existing relationship with McManus, who he had only met prior to a few games in the past.

McManus spent the first nine seasons of his NFL career with the Denver Broncos where he made 223 field goals, including 40 from at least 50 yards.

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Brandon McManus posts full-page ad in Denver Post thanking Broncos

“I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the incredible support you have shown me and my family over the past 9 years,” Brandon McManus wrote.

The Denver Broncos released veteran kicker Brandon McManus, who played ten years in the NFL and nine years for the Broncos, last week. The move was salary cap friendly, saving the team between $2.5 and 3.75 million this season.

McManus recently signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars on a one-year, $2.35 million deal.

McManus took out a full-page ad with the Denver Post on Sunday to directly thank Broncos Country and to say goodbye to the place he called home for nine seasons.

Broncos general manager George Paton commented on the release of McManus last week:

Brandon has been a key player and presence with the Broncos for nearly a decade, making outstanding contributions to our team and community. Developing into one of the NFL’s most productive kickers, Brandon made so many clutch kicks for this franchise over the years as a Super Bowl champion and team captain.

McManus leaves as the second-all-time leading scorer in Broncos history, and he will be fondly remembered as a key player of the team’s Super Bowl 50 squad.

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Jaguars K Brandon McManus buys ad in Denver Post to thank Broncos fans

New Jaguars kicker Brandon McManus wanted to thank Broncos fans for nine years of support.

Brandon McManus will suit up for a new time for the first time in nearly a decade when he takes over as the kicker for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023.

But before he gets started in Duval, the longtime Denver Broncos kicker wanted to say farewell to his former city. McManus took out a full page ad in the Denver Post on Sunday morning to thank Broncos fans and more than 100 team staffers.

“I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the incredible support you have shown me and my family over the past nine years,” the ad reads, in part. “Your unwavering support, relentless cheers, and unconditional love has been the driving force behind my time as a Denver Bronco. The electrifying atmosphere at Empower Field, with its sea of orange and deafening roar, is something that will forever be etched in my heart. Each time I stepped onto the field, I was filled with a sense of awe and inspiration, ready to make the game winning kick.”

McManus, 31, made 223 field goals during his time in Denver, second most in Broncos history. His 40 successful field goals from at least 50 yards were a franchise record.

The kicker struggled a bit in 2022, though, making 28 of his 36 field goal attempts and 25 of 27 extra point attempts. The 10 total misses were a career most for McManus, who was released by the Broncos earlier this month.

In Jacksonville, he’ll replace Riley Patterson, who didn’t have the strongest leg, but made 30 of his 35 field goals last season, as well as a game-winner in the playoffs to beat the Los Angeles Chargers.

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Sean Payton comments on Broncos cutting Brandon McManus

Sean Payton said cutting Brandon McManus was in the best interest of the team, and he hinted that money was a factor in the decision.

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The Denver Broncos released kicker Brandon McManus on Tuesday ahead of the start of organized team activities.

The club had its first open-to-media practice on Thursday and coach Sean Payton was asked about releasing McManus after the session.

“Yeah, look, ultimately, you’re constantly looking at what’s the best interest for your team, relative to — and a lot of times, money — and what your musts are coming into it,” Payton said.

“And so, you guys [media members] know this better than anyone — the transactions continue from now until training camp and there might be a player or two we’re still looking to sign. So we factored a lot of that in and then we made that decision.”

Depending on whether or not McManus’ release is designated as a post-June 1 cut, the Broncos will save either $2.51 million or $3.75 million in salary cap this season. Payton seemed to imply that was a factor in the decision.

After being cut by Denver, McManus signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday. The Broncos, meanwhile, brought in three kickers — Brett Maher, Parker White and Elliott Fry — for workouts on Wednesday.

With the 90-man offseason roster full, Denver will have to make a corresponding move to make room when the team signs a kicker to replace McManus.

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Jaguars sign K Brandon McManus, waive K Riley Patterson

The Jaguars replaced kicker Riley Patterson with a veteran on Thursday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars made a relatively surprising decision, replacing kicker Riley Patterson on Thursday by signing veteran kicker Brandon McManus.

McManus, 31, spent the first nine seasons of his NFL career with the Denver Broncos where he made 223 of 274 field goals (81.4 percent) and 277 of 286 extra point tries (96.9 percent). His career long was a 61-yarder that he made during the 2021 season.

That was one of 40 successful tries from at least 50 yards in McManus’ career.

While the decision to add a bigger leg isn’t a shocking one, waiving Patterson in May is a surprise.

Patterson, 23, was scooped off waivers by the Jaguars just before the start of the 2022 season and proved to be a reliable addition. While his longest make of the year was from only 53 yards, Patterson made 30 of his 35 field goal attempts (85.7 percent) and 36 of his 37 extra point tries (97.3 percent).

Most importantly, Patterson came up clutch when the Jaguars needed him to in January, drilling a 36-yarder against the Los Angeles Chargers to complete a historic comeback.

Jacksonville also has kicker James McCourt, who spent the 2022 season on the team’s practice squad after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent.

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