Chris Kuper restructures contract to stay with Broncos!

[cdumler7]

So many have been wondering what is going on with Chris Kuper for months now of whether this year he would continue to be a Bronco or not. Well it is official now that 2 things are happening with Kuper. The first being he has started practicing and is expected to get some work in the final preseason game to test out how good his ankle is holding up.

The other and more important in my opinion is his contract was restructured. Instead of making the $4.5 million he was set to make he will now make $1.05 million guaranteed with another $1.7 in playtime bonuses. Seems to be a deal that benefits both sides. If he plays then that is great for the Broncos and I am sure they are more than willing to pay him what he is worth for starting but if he doesn't then the Broncos are not on the hook for a huge amount of money for a back up.

This should mean that as the team gets healthier the OL that last week was looking horrible beyond belief should have either Ramirez or Lilja as a back up plus Clark and now Kuper. All of these guys have some pretty good experience. This should give us time to also work with some of the young guns to get them caught up and ready to go. Right now we are a little weak at OT if one of them would go down but at the guard and center position this team looks pretty darn good actually.

 

[KwitYerWhinin]

So many have been wondering what is going on with Chris Kuper for months now of whether this year he would continue to be a Bronco or not. Well it is official now that 2 things are happening with Kuper. The first being he has started practicing and is expected to get some work in the final preseason game to test out how good his ankle is holding up.

The other and more important in my opinion is his contract was restructured. Instead of making the $4.5 million he was set to make he will now make $1.05 million guaranteed with another $1.7 in playtime bonuses. Seems to be a deal that benefits both sides. If he plays then that is great for the Broncos and I am sure they are more than willing to pay him what he is worth for starting but if he doesn't then the Broncos are not on the hook for a huge amount of money for a back up.

This should mean that as the team gets healthier the OL that last week was looking horrible beyond belief should have either Ramirez or Lilja as a back up plus Clark and now Kuper. All of these guys have some pretty good experience. This should give us time to also work with some of the young guns to get them caught up and ready to go. Right now we are a little weak at OT if one of them would go down but at the guard and center position this team looks pretty darn good actually.

Kuper is a great player too when healthy...is he better at his old position than Vasquez ?

 

[cdumler7]

Kuper is a great player too when healthy...is he better at his old position than Vasquez ?

If fully healthy I would say he is probably the better run blocker of the two but Vasquez is definitely the better pass blocker.

I read today that Kuper is now actually trying to work out at Center as I do think that is about the only position on the OL that is available for him to start that doesn't require somebody to get hurt. He has said that he will practice at Center and do whatever it takes to get on the field so definitely glad to see that. Hopefully he is not trying to come back too soon again though. Last year I guess during the playoff game he had actually broken the plate in his ankle that was holding the whole thing together but kept playing anyway. The guy is one tough SOB.

 

[randymon]

So many have been wondering what is going on with Chris Kuper for months now of whether this year he would continue to be a Bronco or not. Well it is official now that 2 things are happening with Kuper. The first being he has started practicing and is expected to get some work in the final preseason game to test out how good his ankle is holding up.

The other and more important in my opinion is his contract was restructured. Instead of making the $4.5 million he was set to make he will now make $1.05 million guaranteed with another $1.7 in playtime bonuses. Seems to be a deal that benefits both sides. If he plays then that is great for the Broncos and I am sure they are more than willing to pay him what he is worth for starting but if he doesn't then the Broncos are not on the hook for a huge amount of money for a back up.

This should mean that as the team gets healthier the OL that last week was looking horrible beyond belief should have either Ramirez or Lilja as a back up plus Clark and now Kuper. All of these guys have some pretty good experience. This should give us time to also work with some of the young guns to get them caught up and ready to go. Right now we are a little weak at OT if one of them would go down but at the guard and center position this team looks pretty darn good actually.

remember that dude from espn board that said we should draft a g/t with 1st pk in draft? He`s looking a little smarter now. Especially if Williams doesn`t pan out. Can`t quite remember who that guys was, can you cd?

 

[cdumler7]

remember that dude from espn board that said we should draft a g/t with 1st pk in draft? He`s looking a little smarter now. Especially if Williams doesn`t pan out. Can`t quite remember who that guys was, can you cd?

Man having trouble remembering who that guy was . Haha I definitely understood your premise for those posts and after Thursday's game thought for a second about apologizing to you for thinking it was not a smart decision. Now that guys are actually getting healthy (Clady was actually in full pads today for the first time!) the line is definitely looking a little better by the day. I do hope that next year the Broncos can at least devote some middle round picks to helping add some talent to this line but we shall see. My guess right now is Kuper and Lilja are just one year rentals plus Beadles' contract runs out after the year so the team will have some tough decisions. If the draft could have some great OG players like this last year I would love to see the Broncos go after one of those road graders to really help in the run game!

Hopefully this line can survive one more year (or even 2 or 3 more would be nice as well )

 

[randymon]

Man having trouble remembering who that guy was . Haha I definitely understood your premise for those posts and after Thursday's game thought for a second about apologizing to you for thinking it was not a smart decision. Now that guys are actually getting healthy (Clady was actually in full pads today for the first time!) the line is definitely looking a little better by the day. I do hope that next year the Broncos can at least devote some middle round picks to helping add some talent to this line but we shall see. My guess right now is Kuper and Lilja are just one year rentals plus Beadles' contract runs out after the year so the team will have some tough decisions. If the draft could have some great OG players like this last year I would love to see the Broncos go after one of those road graders to really help in the run game!

Hopefully this line can survive one more year (or even 2 or 3 more would be nice as well )

I truly hope the 0-line continues to get healthy and avoids any setbacks thru season. That being said, the verdicts still out as too how effective this group will be. If there is an achilles heal on this team, the O-line leads the way. I hope I`am wrong and after getting healthy and meshing with each other, they improve gm by gm. Regardless, if the talent is there in next yrs draft, Denver needs to address this and also in fa market. As always cd, the pleasure is mine sir!

 

[cdumler7]

I truly hope the 0-line continues to get healthy and avoids any setbacks thru season. That being said, the verdicts still out as too how effective this group will be. If there is an achilles heal on this team, the O-line leads the way. I hope I`am wrong and after getting healthy and meshing with each other, they improve gm by gm. Regardless, if the talent is there in next yrs draft, Denver needs to address this and also in fa market. As always cd, the pleasure is mine sir!

The Broncos have had 3 drafts with John Elway at the helm and so far our 1st picks in the last 3 have all gone defense so I definitely would not mind seeing them use a 1st round pick on the OL next year depending some on what is actually available and what we decide to do with guys like JD Walton and Beadles. The other position that could become a question mark next year would be Corner depending how the Broncos handle that and how well Champ is looking. Obviously a lot can change in a year so hard to predict from one year to the next how things are going to go but as of right now 3 of the OL positions are for sure set for next year with the Center and LG position up in the air.

Right now depending on health I do think this OL will be one of the top 3 in Pass Protection as they were the top unit last year and from the looks of the OL they have only added pieces that should help in Vasquez and now Lilja who actually did better last year than Koppen grade wise at the Center position for the Chiefs. The Run Blocking will be the big question mark but I do love what I am hearing out of Dove Valley of how well the Zone Blocking scheme is coming along with the OL. They did not use any of it in the first game but my guess is they have gone a very vanilla style as to not give too much away for the season.

Someday Randymon you and I are going to have to get together for a beer and watch a game together. I don't say that to many people but always loved our conversations and there is very few things in this world that beat sitting down with a fellow Bronco fan for a beer and a game.

 

[WalkerBoh]

Wow! If they failed to use any ZBS in the last game, that would explain a lot of the run blocking (or lack thereof) we saw against the 49ers. Not sure why this line is poopooed by some. It's top-5 to top-10 in every ranking list I can find. I've never been a fan of drafting OL in the 1st round unless the player is an absolute guaranteed sure thing (or as close as you can come in the NFL). Later rounds will still produce a lot of solid choices to build a line with, and the 1st round is best used on the best available player.

 

[randymon]

The Broncos have had 3 drafts with John Elway at the helm and so far our 1st picks in the last 3 have all gone defense so I definitely would not mind seeing them use a 1st round pick on the OL next year depending some on what is actually available and what we decide to do with guys like JD Walton and Beadles. The other position that could become a question mark next year would be Corner depending how the Broncos handle that and how well Champ is looking. Obviously a lot can change in a year so hard to predict from one year to the next how things are going to go but as of right now 3 of the OL positions are for sure set for next year with the Center and LG position up in the air.

Right now depending on health I do think this OL will be one of the top 3 in Pass Protection as they were the top unit last year and from the looks of the OL they have only added pieces that should help in Vasquez and now Lilja who actually did better last year than Koppen grade wise at the Center position for the Chiefs. The Run Blocking will be the big question mark but I do love what I am hearing out of Dove Valley of how well the Zone Blocking scheme is coming along with the OL. They did not use any of it in the first game but my guess is they have gone a very vanilla style as to not give too much away for the season.

Someday Randymon you and I are going to have to get together for a beer and watch a game together. I don't say that to many people but always loved our conversations and there is very few things in this world that beat sitting down with a fellow Bronco fan for a beer and a game.

Thanks cd. Appreciate that and feelings mutual. I`am not getting any younger so I better hurry up and win lotto. If I do, I`ll send ya plane ticket to Denver along with ticket to game and we`ll crash a couple tailgate parties before the game! Would be a blast buddy! I also am glad they ( Denver has gone back to more of the zone-blocking scheme. Its worked well for Broncos in the past. Oh, I haven`t heard much of Vasquez. Have to say I don`t recall seeing him in gm vs 9ers. Did he play?

 

[cdumler7]

Thanks cd. Appreciate that and feelings mutual. I`am not getting any younger so I better hurry up and win lotto. If I do, I`ll send ya plane ticket to Denver along with ticket to game and we`ll crash a couple tailgate parties before the game! Would be a blast buddy! I also am glad they ( Denver has gone back to more of the zone-blocking scheme. Its worked well for Broncos in the past. Oh, I haven`t heard much of Vasquez. Have to say I don`t recall seeing him in gm vs 9ers. Did he play?

He did and did quite well from what I have read. He is a great pass blocking OG so should serve well for the team. Also I actually wouldn't need a plane ticket...I don't live that far from Denver and make frequent trips to the big city. You let me know though how that lottery idea works out for you.

 

[randymon]

He did and did quite well from what I have read. He is a great pass blocking OG so should serve well for the team. Also I actually wouldn't need a plane ticket...I don't live that far from Denver and make frequent trips to the big city. You let me know though how that lottery idea works out for you.

I`ll keep ya posted cd. Looking forward to Sat gm. I`ll do a better job with O-line observation.