Kiz: Tanking is just another word for nothing left to lose. After getting embarrassed in the Huggy Bear Bowl by Nathaniel and the Jets, your Denver Broncos’ record is 1-4. They might not be favored to win another game until Christmas Eve, when the New England Patriots visit Colorado. So the Broncos are squarely in the hunt for the No. 1 draft pick and USC quarterback Caleb Williams. Can Denver tank for Caleb without insulting both players in the locker room and paying fans in the stands?
Gabriel: Well, it would have been easier had they not overcome the 28-7 deficit to beat Chicago. And they probably can’t do it without insulting players and fans alike. But if the Broncos do go into full to-the-studs rebuild mode, they’d likely try to trade several of the veterans who have experienced the most losing in the locker room. The short-timers would be gone or see the writing on the wall, and the ones who are going to be around for a while may recognize the reality of the situation. Fans? Seems to me going 0-3 at home to Las Vegas, Washington and the Jets is the insulting part.
Kiz: Our old friend John Fox used to tell me it was a weekly battle for any NFL coach to maintain the trust of players in the locker room. The bad body language of linebacker Randy Gregory in Chicago and the less-than-max effort receiver Courtland Sutton seemed to give running routes against the Jets makes me wonder how many Broncos want out of this dumpster fire. This is how Denver can most effectively tank: Trade enough veterans before the Oct. 31 deadline and the team’s ability, not to mention its will, to win will be compromised beyond repair.
Gabriel: Tanking is just another word for not good enough to win. You say they’re trading veterans to kill any chance of a rogue couple of second-half wins taking the top of the draft out of the picture. They’d say they’re making decisions that help add to a quiver of draft picks that’s not had nearly enough arrows since the Russell Wilson trade in March 2022. Potato, po-tah-to. 3-14, Caleb Williams. It’s all in the eye of the draft-pick holder.
Kiz: We saw how spectacularly horrendous the Denver D could be when safety Justin Simmons was out of the lineup with an injury. He’s also one of the most sincere and genuine athletes I’ve had the privilege to cover during my 40 years at The Denver Post. A little more than one month shy of his 30th birthday, Simmons is too old to keep for a lengthy rebuilding process and too good not to get a shot at making a Super Bowl run. Could Denver obtain a second-round draft choice for him in a trade? Parting ways with Simmons would declare to everyone the Broncos are playing in earnest for next year.
Gabriel: Oh, a second-rounder? That would probably count as pretty good compensation for Simmons. You’d rather not be in this position at all, obviously, but now that the Broncos are — and might really be a couple weeks from now — you’re taking that type of deal if you get it. Simmons is probably the most valuable player Denver could part with in the coming weeks. And it would be the second time in three years they’ve traded a true, staple, franchise-type guy, following Von Miller in 2021 and Bradley Chubb in 2022. Are you likely to get great value on some of the other guys? Maybe not, but if teams call about Jerry Jeudy, Sutton, Frank Clark, Josey Jewell, D.J. Jones or, really, pretty much anybody outside a small group starting with Pat Surtain II, you figure George Paton and Sean Payton are listening.
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