ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos have a revamped defense that’s fast, agile and No. 1 against the run to go with Von Miller, one of the better defensive player of the year candidates not named J.J. Watt. They have a remember-when offense, and they have a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Peyton Manning.
They are a Super Bowl contender by every definition.
Yet the Broncos keep tinkering with the offensive line. Yes, nine games into their season, they are still looking for the right combination in one of the foundation position groups.
First, they moved Chris Clark out of the lineup for the Oct. 19 game against the San Francisco 49ers and put Paul Cornick in at right tackle. Then, they moved Cornick out of the lineup this past Sunday against the Oakland Raiders -- Cornick had a shoulder injury in practice last week, but the Broncos were poised to make the change anyway -- and moved three players to do it.
Louis Vasquez went to right tackle, where he made his second career NFL start at the position after becoming an All-Pro at right guard in 2013. Manny Ramirez went from center to right guard and Will Montgomery went from being Ramirez’s backup in the middle of the offensive line to start at center. Oh, and the Broncos decided to work out Richie Incognito this week.
The Broncos, after taking a look, elected not to sign Incognito, but did not close the door on the idea of doing it at a later date. And if that day comes later in the season the Broncos would almost certainly cite the strength of their locker room and the strength of their organization as a reason to consider taking on a player who had such a prominent role in the Miami Dolphins’ bullying scandal. An NFL investigation determined Incognito and two other Dolphins offensive linemen (John Jerry and Mike Pouncey) engaged in persistent harassment of Jonathan Martin, who left the Dolphins in October 2013. Incognito was suspended and missed the final eight games of the ’13 season and has been a free agent since his contract with the Dolphins expired.
Martin was later traded to the San Francisco 49ers.
During the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s enshrinement weekend in August, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Incognito had been “very responsive" going through the medical evaluations required at the time of the suspension. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers worked out Incognito in August but did not sign him.
Incognito has started 102 games at guard in his career. At this point, it appears the Broncos saw enough potential for Incognito to play left guard -- where they moved Orlando Franklin from right tackle in the offseason -- to work Incognito out in the first place. After all, the Broncos just moved three players on the right side of the offensive line, and coach John Fox said Monday, even as the team had worked out Incognito, he envisioned those three players staying put as the Broncos prepare for Sunday’s game against the Rams.
It's clear the team’s decision-makers, from John Elway to the coaching staff, are obviously not happy with what they’ve seen in a group that, in the eyes of personnel executives around the league, doesn’t have a single player performing as well as he did last season.
Ryan Clady suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2 last season, but even he has not consistently reached his Pro Bowl standards. The Broncos have missed assignments up front and have had too many pre-snap penalties. They have surrendered three sacks on plays where the defense rushed just three players, and the Broncos have 36 rushing attempts this season for no gain or negative yardage.
Elway has always said he would sign “any player who’s better than the one we have," and Incognito doesn't meet that requirement at the moment, but the Broncos aren't dismissing the idea that if things don't improve up front, Incognito just might fit the bill later.