When C.J. Anderson signed a four-year, $18 million offer sheet with the Miami Dolphins, it looked to be a clear signal that the Anderson was done as a Denver Bronco. If Elway wasn’t going to pay Brock Osweiler top-15 quarterback money, he probably wasn’t going to pay Anderson top-10 running back money, either.
But according to Peter King of TheMMQB.com, “It’s not a lock that C.J. Anderson will be a Dolphin.”
King says that he believes that Elway has yet to decide — he’ll have until Tuesday — but that the losses of Malik Jackson and Osweiler in free agency could leave the Broncos with enough money to afford Anderson’s contract, which would include $6 million in year one.
Matching Miami’s offer, though, would only prove that Elway completely bungled this situation.
If Elway had simply placed the second-round tender on Anderson, guaranteeing him $2.553 million next season, Anderson would have been a Bronco, and he would have been making half of what the Dolphins have now guaranteed him. While an organization may be willing to pay upwards of $6 million for Anderson, it’s highly unlikely that they would have been willing to give up a second-round draft pick too.
Either Elway severely misjudged the market for Anderson or he never expected to keep him in the first place.
We’ll find out by Tuesday.