When the NFL’s legal tampering period opened March 13, the Broncos went right to work by signing a pair of high-profile offensive lineman and four other players over the course of the day.
Also on head coach Sean Payton’s to-do list: Convince Samaje Perine to come to Denver.
Payton, hired in February as the Broncos’ new head man, put forth a convincing pitch. Perine agreed the next day to a two-year deal worth up to $7.5 million and explained to The Post this week why he thought it was “the right time for me branch out and try to establish myself somewhere else,” after four seasons in Cincinnati.
“What it came down to, really, was how up front Denver was with me as far as playing time and what Coach Payton wants to do with me, personally, and what he wants to do as an offense,” Perine said Thursday, adding he heard from several teams when he hit free agency. “The first time I talked with Coach Payton when everything opened up — (on Wednesday), that first day — the thing he really emphasized was his history of using multiple backs, using two backs in his time with the Saints and going through the history of the backs he’s had.
“That made my decision a tad bit easier.”
The seventh-year running back in 2022 had 95 carries and 38 catches for 681 total yards and six touchdowns for the Bengals. He saw the most snaps of his career (41%) and the most touches since his rookie season in Washington in 2017.
“It was a tough decision because obviously I loved my time in Cincinnati and I’m very appreciative and I love everything they’re trying to do over there,” Perine said. “Coach (Zac) Taylor and his supporting staff is great and it was hard to leave them and a well-established organization.”
But he wasn’t sure exactly what the workload would look like between him and fellow former Oklahoma standout Joe Mixon going forward after averaging 86 touches per season over the past three years.
So he decided to put his trust in Payton.
Payton certainly has plenty of data and historical context to go on from his 15 years in New Orleans.
Over 14 seasons — taking out an injury-riddled 2010 — the back with the second-most touches in Payton’s system averaged 155 per year. Nine times Payton had a running back log 70 or more catches in a year.
Early in his tenure in New Orleans, Payton paired Reggie Bush with several other more powerful backs. Later on, Alvin Kamara settled into a four-year run split between Mark Ingram (2017-18) and Latavius Murray (2019-20) where he eclipsed 200 touches each year and the other back averaged 199.
Perine doesn’t have to be Bush or Kamara in order to feel like there’s potential in linking up with Javonte Williams in a Payton offense. And he may be asked to carry a heavier load early in the season if Williams isn’t all the way back from a serious knee injury suffered in October.
“When Javonte does come back and he is fully healthy, I’ve seen him on film and I’ve seen the kind of runner he is,” Perine said. “And a full game’s worth of two backs who run the ball physically, straight down your throat? That’s going to be, in my opinion, pretty dangerous. With (quarterback Russell Wilson) and everyone around it, I feel like we have the potential to be a pretty dangerous offense.
“It’s pretty exciting and I’m excited to get up there and get to work and let things fall into place like they should.”
Over Perine’s first two seasons in Cincinnati, the Bengals went 6-25-1. In his final two seasons, they went to a Super Bowl and an AFC Championship Game. Clearly, Joe Burrow’s ascension into an elite quarterback played a big role in that, but Perine credited Coach Taylor, too, and said he thinks Payton will have a similar impact over time in Denver.
“It’s very similar to Cincinnati where we had the pieces and it’s just a matter of putting those pieces together and everyone buying into and believing in where we’re trying to get to,” Perine said. “… Everybody kind of saw it as an overnight, quick-turnaround thing (in Cincinnati), but Zac, he was working on that and getting the right people in place and having the right attitude in the building. It takes time, but I feel like if we buy in early — it doesn’t even take anything drastic — it’s just buying in and being on the same page. … I’ve heard nothing but great things about Coach Payton and the coach he is.”
He’s no stranger at this point to playoff games. Perine caught a 43-yard touchdown that sparked Cincinnati’s second-half comeback in the 2022 AFC title game against Kansas City. He’s played in seven postseason games over the past two years, a calling card of several of the Broncos’ free agent additions this month.
“You have to be a solid group in the locker room and really treat it like a family,” Perine said. “Once you have that down, everything else becomes that much easier. Once you look at the guy next to you and he’s your brother and not, for lack of a better term, a colleague in the workforce. That’s your brother and you’re willing to do anything to protect your brother so then when whatever the coach asks you to do, it’s that much easier because you’re doing it for a family member instead of just doing it for a colleague.”
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