I don’t disagree with any of that, but since Phillips and DRC were free agents they were going to have to pay more to retain them as well, so while they may not have improved over the 2013 squad it’s an improvement from where they could have been before FA started.

Ware specifically could be a major upgrade, as while it’s by no means guaranteed, I think it’s fair to say he’s much more likely than Phillips to have an All-Pro season and make a huge impact for that defense, which is part of why he’s paid more. As for the offense, while they definitely downgraded at receiver they should still have one of the best offenses in the league next year, and they can hope the defensive improvements will offset most of that loss.

The “early report” I was referring to was a story on the Denver Post about something else entirely that casually dropped that Ware, Talib, and Ward all received $5m signing bonuses.

Mike Florio over at PFT is now reporting that instead Talib has $11.5m in guaranteed salary this year, $5.5 next year, and $8.5 the year after. Each salary is guaranteed for injury (as predicted), but only becomes fully guaranteed in March of that year (again as predicted). Talib also has up to $500,000 he can earn in per-game roster bonuses if he manages to stay healthy.

So, basically, Denver signed Talib to a 1-year, $12m deal with a team option to add a second year at $6m, and then another team option for a third year at $9m, followed by up to three more team option years in the $11m range. They can cut him after any season (before the start of free agency) with minimal cap ramifications. Again, I’d rather have Revis this year for $12m than Talib this year for $12 (much, much rather, in fact), but all those extra team options at the end of the deal will become extremely valuable as the salary cap continues to rise, provided Talib keeps up his performance. And if Talib doesn’t, there’s little lost.

It’s not getting Wes Welker for the cost of Brian Hartline or anything, but it’s a pretty solid deal for the Broncos, which is little surprise because they have a reputation as hardball negotiators who sign players to extremely team-friendly deals under Elway.