Tag: Brandon McManus

Broncos save salary cap space with Brandon McManus release

If the Broncos designate Brandon McManus as a post-June 1 release, the team will save $3.75 million in salary cap space in 2023.

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The Denver Broncos released kicker Brandon McManus on Tuesday in a move that will open up a roster spot and create more salary cap space.

McManus was scheduled to have a $3.65 million base salary this season, plus $100,000 through per-game-day roster bonuses. That combined with his $1,231,250 prorated signing bonus would have given McManus a $4,981,250 salary cap hit this season, according to OverTheCap.com.

That was set to be the sixth-highest cap hit among kickers in 2023, and new coach Sean Payton likely couldn’t justify that after McManus ranked 29th among kickers in field goal percentage (77.8%) last season.

If the Broncos designate McManus as a pre-June 1 cut, the team will eat $2,462,500 worth of “dead money” against the cap with a net savings of $2,518,750 this season, according to OTC.

If the team designates McManus’ release as a post-June 1 cut, Denver will eat $1,231,250 in “dead money” with a net savings of $3.75 million. Regardless of whether it ends up being $2.5 million or $3.75 million in cap savings, the team’s next kicker will likely have a much cheaper contract.

Football’s a business, and teams are always looking to save cap space.

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Brandon McManus ends up 2nd on Broncos’ all-time scoring list

Brandon McManus ranks 2nd on the Broncos’ all-time scoring list (946 points) and 2nd in field goal percentage (82%) behind Elam and Prater.

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The Brandon McManus era has come to an end in Denver.

After nine years with the team, McManus was released by the Broncos on Monday. The kicker had been the last remaining player on the roster from Denver’s win in Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season.

With McManus’ time with the Broncos over, we now know that he will end up in second place on the team’s all-time scoring list with 946 points. Jason Elam ranks first with 1,786 points.

McManus went a perfect 10-of-10 on field goal attempts during the 2015 playoffs, marking a franchise high for converted field goals in a single postseason. He went 3-of-3 on field goal attempts in the team’s 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 that season.

His 82% field goal percentage ranks second in franchise history only behind Matt Prater (82.9%), and McManus converted the most 50-plus-yard field goals (40) in franchise history, including the postseason.

McManus, 31, will now seek his fourth NFL team. He had brief stints with the Indianapolis Colts (2013) and New York Giants (2014) before landing in Denver ten years ago.

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No players remain on Broncos’ roster from Super Bowl 50 win

Following the release of Brandon McManus on Tuesday, the Broncos have no players remaining on the roster from their Super Bowl 50 win.

Following the release of kicker Brandon McManus on Tuesday, the Denver Broncos no longer employ any players from their Super Bowl 50 roster.

McManus was the last remaining players from that team and his nine-year run with the Broncos came to an end on Tuesday. Here’s a look back at that Super Bowl-winning roster.

Player
4. P Britton Colquitt
8. K Brandon McManus
10. WR Emmanuel Sanders
11. WR Jordan Norwood
12. WR Andre Caldwell
13. QB Trevor Siemian
14. WR Cody Latimer
16. WR Bennie Fowler
17. QB Brock Osweiler
18. QB Peyton Manning
20. DB Josh Bush
21. CB Aqib Talib
22. RB C.J. Anderson
23. RB Ronnie Hillman
25. CB Chris Haris
26. DB Darian Stewart
29. CB Bradley Roby
30. DB David Burton
31. DB Omar Bolden
33. DB Shilo Keo
35. RB Kapri Bibbs
36. DB Kayvon Webster
37. CB Lorenzo Doss
40. RB Juwan Thompson
43. DB T.J. Ward
46. LS Aaron Brewer
48. OLB Shaq Barrett
51. ILB Todd Davis
52. ILB Corey Nelson
53. OL James Ferentz
54. ILB Brandon Marshall
55. LB Lerentee McCray
56. OLB Shane Ray
58. OLB Von Miller
59. ILB Danny Trevathan
61. OL Matt Paradis
65. OG Louis Vasquez
68. OL Ryan Harris
69. OG Evan Mathis
73. OL Max Garcia
74. OL Ty Sambrailo
76. OL Tyler Polumbus
78. OT Ryan Clady
79. OL Michael Schofield
80. TE Vernon Davis
81. TE Owen Daniels
82. TE Jeff Heuerman
84. TE Mitchell Henry
85. TE Virgil Green
88. WR Demaryius Thomas
89. TE Richard Gordon
90. DL Antonio Smith
91. DL Kenny Anunike
92. DT Sylvester Williams
94. OLB DeMarcus Ware
95. DE Derek Wolfe
96. DL Vance Walker
97. DL Malik Jackson
98. DL Darius Kilgo

Most of the players from that Super Bowl 50 team are now out of the NFL, with pass rusher Von Miller being a notable exception. McManus will likely find a spot with another team as well in the coming weeks.

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Rams should consider signing K Brandon McManus following release from Broncos

Brandon McManus has been released by the Broncos and the Rams should consider targeting him.

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With NFL teams beginning OTAs, there are going to be surprising releases and signings at various positions. Following the unexpected release of Brandon McManus by the Denver Broncos, the Los Angeles Rams should consider targeting the veteran kicker.

The Rams were lucky enough to have Matt Gay on their roster in the last three seasons, giving them stability at the kicker spot. In his three seasons with the Rams, Gay converted 74 of his 80 field-goal attempts, including 12 of his 15 attempts from 50-plus yards out.

But with Gay joining the Indianapolis Colts via free agency this offseason, the Rams need a new kicker. Instead of adding a veteran, the Rams have elected — up to this point — to take a youthful approach to the kicker position.

The only kickers on the roster right now are two undrafted rookies: Tanner Brown and Christopher Dunn. The last time the Rams deployed a rookie kicker was in 2020 when Sam Sloman (a seventh-round pick) made eight of his 11 field-goal attempts before being eventually replaced by Gay.

Finding a kicker that you can trust is crucial in the NFL despite the notion that it’s an easy position to play. McManus has been reliable for the Broncos for years and he wouldn’t be overly expensive to sign following his surprising release.

Since joining the Broncos in 2014, McManus has been a solid kicker in the league. Even though he isn’t the most efficient kicker (he’s made 223 of his 274 field-goal attempts in his career), he’s been trusted to make longer field goals with his strong leg.

In just the last three seasons, McManus has attempted 37 field goals from 50-plus yards and he’s made 23 of them. Having a kicker that has the leg to convert points from farther away is valuable in today’s NFL.

The Rams certainly have a variety of question marks on the roster entering the 2023 season. Assuming that McManus wasn’t released due to something that hasn’t been revealed yet, he would solve the Rams’ current problem at the kicker position.

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George Paton comments on Broncos cutting Brandon McManus

“We thank Brandon [McManus] for all he did for the Broncos, and we wish him and his family the very best in the future,” George Paton said.

The Denver Broncos unexpectedly released Brandon McManus on Tuesday, a move that was first announced by the kicker himself on Twitter.

Shortly after McManus broke the news, the Broncos confirmed the transaction and thanked the kicker in a farewell tweet. Denver then released the following statement from general manager George Paton:

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. 

He will always hold a special place in Denver Broncos history. We thank Brandon for all he did for the Broncos, and we wish him and his family the very best in the future.

Those comments suggest the Broncos are not planning to re-sign McManus on a cheaper contract. After nine years in Denver, the McManus era has come to an end. This is the latest shakeup new coach Sean Payton has made on special teams this offseason.

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Brandon McManus announces that Broncos have released him

Broncos kicker Brandon McManus broke the news on Tuesday that he has been released by Denver.

Well, you don’t see this often.

The Denver Broncos have released veteran kicker Brandon McManus. The source of that news? McManus himself.

“The @Broncos have informed me I’ve been released. More to come in the following days,” McManus tweeted from his official Twitter account on Tuesday.

The move will save the team between $2.5 million and $3.75 million in salary cap space, depending on whether or not it is designated as a post-June 1 roster cut.

McManus, 31, joined the team in 2014 after brief stints with the Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants. McManus became Denver’s full-time kicker in 2015 and he went a perfect 10-of-10 on field goal attempts in the playoffs that year as the Broncos went on to win the Super Bowl.

McManus had been the last remaining player on the roster from the team’s Super Bowl 50 win. He will now become a free agent and will likely draw interest from several teams.

McManus converted 81.4% of his field goal attempts in nine years in Denver and 96.9% of his extra point attempts. His 946 career points rank second on the team’s all-time scoring list only behind Jason Elam’s 1,786 points.

Unless the team hopes to re-sign McManus on a cheaper contract, the team will now be in the market for a new kicker. There are currently no other kickers on the team’s 90-man offseason roster.

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Broncos’ updated special teams depth chart after the NFL draft

Here are the Broncos’ projected starters on special teams ahead of OTAs.

Our pre-OTAs positional depth chart review series wraps up today with several positions lumped together under the special teams category.

The Broncos did not draft any kickers or punters this spring, so this special teams depth chart projection is pretty straightforward.

Broncos made big changes on special teams this offseason

The Broncos brought in a new ST coordinator and an assistant HC with a ST background and made changes at punter, returner and long snapper.

Last year, the Denver Broncos’ special teams units were nothing special. Let’s go over some of the “highlights” from 2022.

Not only did they lead the league in punts (96), kicker Brandon McManus also missed the most field goals in a season of his career (8) and rookie return specialist Montrell Washington fumbled five times.

Suffice it to say, the Broncos are in major need of a special teams makeover. During free agency, Denver signed punter Riley Dixon, who returns to the Broncos after most recently playing for the Los Angeles Rams. After signing Dixon, they released Corliss Waitman, who, despite leading the NFL in punts, had one of the shortest punts of the season among qualifying punters who booted at least 25 kicks (57 yards). Comparatively, Dixon’s longest punt in 2022 was 67 yards.

The Broncos also made a change at long snapper, letting Jacob Bobenmoyer walk in free agency. Mitchell Fraboni, who filled in for an injured Bobenmoyer in four games last year, now appears set to become the team’s full-time long snapper in 2023.

In addition, the Broncos also acquired cornerback Tremon Smith, who was a kick returner for the Houston Texans to compete with Washington as a specialist. Will this competition bring out the best in Washington? Or will Denver be looking for another returner in the draft?

This new-look special teams unit has some great potential. It would certainly be nice to rank near the bottom of the league in punts, and near the top of the NFL in return yards. With new special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica and new assistant head coach Mike Westhoff leading the charge, the Broncos should take a big step forward on special teams this fall.

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NFL players are divided on the league allowing No. 0 on jerseys

Next season we’ll see players wearing a number not seen in decades.

For the first time in 50 years, we will see an NFL player wear No. 0 on their jersey during the 2023 season.

On Tuesday, the NFL voted to allow skill players (anyone who isn’t on the offensive or defensive line) to wear No. 0 on their uniform if they so choose. It’s admittedly a minor aesthetic change overall, but it’s one that some players should absolutely take advantage of if they can.

With an entire catalog of numbers now available to most guys in the league, some took to Twitter to react to the news. Some, like a certain Jacksonville Jaguars playmaker, even maintained that they’d be making the switch immediately. But not everyone was a fan of the No. 0, especially of its limitations on positions.