Jeff Legwold, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

The week that was got Broncos ready for week to come

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- While free agency doesn’t officially open until Tuesday -- at least open for the contracts to be signed, sealed and delivered -- the Denver Broncos did their best to fill up their days over the last week with the work that needed to be done before they could decide how active, exactly, they will be in the days to come.

They put a little of the short-term fix on contracts for wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and quarterback Peyton Manning. They signed long-snapper Aaron Brewer, yet another one of their post-draft finds, to a four-year deal.

They tendered offers to linebacker Brandon Marshall, guard Ben Garland and tackle Paul Cornick -- all three are exclusive-rights free agents. And to close out the week they announced they had hired a director of analytics: Mitch Tanney, a former Monmouth College quarterback, who will be the franchise’s first to carry the title.

Thing is, every single one of those moves impacts what the Broncos can, and will, do in the open market.

“We look at it as a step-by-step process," is how Broncos executive vice president of football operations/general manager John Elway recently put it. “We work the plan. We have things we want to get done as we formulate the budget to, as I've said before, see who's going to fit."

Thomas and Manning have been the offseason’s top priorities to this point, or at least getting the team’s quarterback and No. 1 pass catcher squared away were the first items that had to be checked off the to-do list. The Broncos used the franchise player tag on Thomas, which means a one-year tender of $12.823 million that is guaranteed the moment Thomas signs it.

The Broncos will continue to work toward a long-term deal with Thomas, and while Randall Cobb’s four-year, $40 million deal with the Green Bay Packers is the marquee deal for pass catchers in the pre-free agency build-up, it doesn’t really impact Thomas’ potential deal with the Broncos. If the Dallas Cowboys were to sign Dez Bryant before the Broncos’ sign Thomas, that would provide far more specific a framework for any potential deal the Broncos get with Thomas.

Manning’s deal, which cut his base salary $4 million for the 2015 season and added a $2 million incentive for winning the AFC Championship Game to go with another $2 million for winning the Super Bowl, was finished after roughly three weeks of work.

And deliberate work it was on both sides in the touchy business of cutting pay for a future Hall of Famer. Manning has invested some in helping the Broncos’ cash-flow issues -- they have to account for $44.5 million in guaranteed salaries and bonuses between Monday and Saturday in the coming week. In the big picture, the $4 million is the same as the combined roster bonuses for left tackle Ryan Clady ($1.5 million) and safety T.J. Ward ($2.5 million), which are due in the coming week, but the Broncos are trying to get themselves positioned to make a run at a player or two this week.

The Broncos’ work in the coming days will also be focused on keeping their end of the bargain with Manning that they would address the offensive line, and that they will in free agency’s opening hours.

Brewer’s signing, to go with cornerback Chris Harris Jr.’s contract in December, shows the Broncos' success in finding undrafted rookies who fit what they do and have the mindset to compete and flourish. Brewer was initially kept on the roster over the more experienced, and expensive, Lonie Paxton, and has since revealed himself to be a player so reliable in his job that he is simply a football given.

One of next "finds" the Broncos will have to consider over the long term is Marshall, who will be a restricted free agent following the 2015 season. He was signed in 2013 after he had been released a third time by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He spent almost a full season on the Broncos’ practice squad before he played some on special teams to close out 2013.

Marshall was the team’s leading tackler this past season and has every bit the look of a core player on defense, even as the Broncos move to a 3-4.

And in Tanney’s hiring, Elway has simply followed through with something he discussed at length in December as he considered what role analytics will play in the team’s player evaluations in the seasons to come.

So, in the end, the Broncos needed a big week just to get ready for another one.

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