ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- A year ago, as the Denver Broncos roared through the opening hours of free agency waving a checkbook, closing one high-profile deal after another to four players who all eventually played in the Pro Bowl, a major spot on the depth chart that didn't get attention was the offensive line.

The Broncos hoped to put things together in-house, to take care of the roster decisions with players already under contract. That didn't work and even if it had, they won't have that luxury this time around.

Because at the moment, the right tackle job is open, the center job is open and in the current negotiating period before Tuesday's formal opening of free agency, the left guard spot officially opened.

It's not that the Broncos didn't expect Orlando Franklin to sign elsewhere -- he has the framework of a five-year deal in place with the San Diego Chargers that is expected to include $20 million in guarantees -- in fact they expected it. It was Broncos executive vice president of football operations/general manager John Elway, after all, who used the phrases "change of scenery" and "might help them" when discussing the offensive line following the team's playoff loss.

But Franklin's departure formally puts the Broncos right where they were when they finished their free-agency splurge last year, with questions on the offensive line. Last year, they felt if they moved Franklin from right tackle to left guard that would help solidify things up front.

They thought Chris Clark could move into the right tackle spot and thought Manny Ramirez could stay at center. Then Clark got benched at right tackle just before Paul Cornick got benched at right tackle, and things got ugly enough the Broncos felt compelled to take an All-Pro guard in Louis Vasquez and put him at right tackle.

That made the play at right tackle better, but weakened the Broncos overall across the front. They didn't consistently protect well in the middle of the field and there were times players were asked to, in consistently open formations, to cover too much ground.

The Broncos' struggles in the run game were well documented -- backs were hit at, or behind, the line of scrimmage on a third of the team's carries -- but Franklin's value in free agency actually rose as the season wore on and the Broncos' struggles up front never seemed to get better overall. And it was easy to see, defensive coaches around the league said, quarterback Peyton Manning's confidence in the pass protection erode a little more with each passing week.

Still, teams saw Franklin as a physical player still ascending as a guard, a position he had not played in a game since his time at the University of Miami before the Broncos had selected him in the 2011 draft and immediately put him at right tackle. To some personnel executives Franklin stood out in the team's struggles and with Vasquez having moved to guard, Franklin was, again, in the eyes of other personnel executives, the Broncos' most consistent player on the interior.

The Broncos didn't agree, at least to the price tag Franklin appears to have carried on the open market, especially with a change in offense coming that will include more zone blocking. They didn't want to pay what Franklin is expected to sign for with the Chargers once he formally puts pen to paper on a deal that expected to be just north of $36 million.

But the Broncos will have to invest in the offensive line, both in dollars, in the coming days, and in draft picks as April turns to May. Because while they felt a change a scenery may be good for some of their linemen, they still have to build scenery of their own.

Especially after they asked the guy who has to play behind the offensive line to take a pay cut to help the cause.