Two available free agents the Broncos need to consider

There’s never an offseason for talking Broncos, and there’s never a time when the Broncos shouldn’t be looking to upgrade their roster. Even with offseason training activities already in their second week, Denver may not be done adding talent to the roster.

This week, there have been two players made available that may come as a bit of a surprise. The Broncos front office needs to be ready to stick and move as other teams make decisions on players that could be tempting to add.

Here are two available free agents the Broncos need to consider adding to the roster.

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Gerald McCoy

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft, McCoy had a successful nine-year career with the Buccaneers.

Money, specifically $13 million slated for this season, is the main reason the Bucs decided to release McCoy on Monday. The move was not that shocking, as the team had been rumored to be shopping the four-time All-Pro defensive tackle. They were unable to find any takers, so the Bucs free up all of that $13 million to put elsewhere.

Price wasn’t the only reason the Bucs were looking to move on from McCoy.

New Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles is bringing a 3-4 defense to Tampa Bay and that’s not a great fit for McCoy’s skill set. Yes, the Broncos run a hybrid 3-4 defense under Vic Fangio, but the 4-3 under fronts he uses would work great for a player like McCoy.

McCoy’s known mostly for his run-stuffing skill and he does a good job of diagnosing plays while engaged with an offensive lineman. He has a good burst to the ball-carrier and is an engulfing tackler.

McCoy can also penetrate as a defensive tackle. He regularly gets six or seven sacks per year, totalling 54.5 during his NFL career.

Currently, the Broncos only have one defensive tackle (Shelby Harris) on the roster. As good as Harris has been for the Broncos in a part-time role, McCoy would be better as a starter.

However, to improve that spot it would come with a large price tag. McCoy won’t get the $13 million he was going to make in Tampa, but about half that number ($6-$7 million) might make sense for an annual average salary.

The Broncos could use the upgrade, but they might not be able to afford the upgrade.

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Gerald Hodges

ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter tweeted on Tuesday that inside linebacker Gerald Hodges was coming out of his short-lived retirement to return to the NFL.

After briefly considering retiring, Cardinals’ free-agent LB Gerald Hodges has decided to play again, per source, and is now drawing interest from several teams.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 21, 2019

Perhaps some of the interest that Schefter is tweeting about here is coming from the Broncos.

Hodges has played under Broncos head coach Vic Fangio before and he had his best seasons as a pro during that time. Back when Hodges played for the 49ers, Fangio was his defensive coordinator.

In the 2016 season, Hodges had a career-high 83 tackles, with 52 of those being of the solo variety. He also had a career-high three sacks that season. Don’t laugh at the small total; Hodges isn’t asked to get after the quarterback that much and has only 12 sacks in his six seasons of playing in the NFL. In 2016, Hodges also had two interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

Last season for the Cardinals, Hodges had 55 tackles in 16 games. He wasn’t bad, but certainly didn’t produce the way he did when Fangio was his defensive coach. Perhaps it would be an attraction for Hodges to un-retire if Fangio were to be his coach again.

Unlike McCoy, it probably won’t take that much money for the Broncos to add a talent like Hodges. They did not select an inside linebacker in the 2019 NFL Draft, so depth behind Todd Davis and Josey Jewell is a concern.

Hodges could give the Broncos valuable veteran depth while pushing for playing time on defense.

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Summary

It’s unlikely the Broncos have the cap space to get McCoy on the team. The Browns have already checked in on McCoy and he may not be on the open market that much longer.

The Broncos might be the right fit – maybe even the perfect fit – for Hodges, however. The price is likely quite affordable and the question marks about inside linebacker before the draft are still there.

We’ll see what the Broncos have in store for the makeup of their roster. If they have some questions about depth or just want an upgrade over what they have, then McCoy or Hodges should be on their radar now that they’re available.

Follow @CecilLammey