The feeling that running backs are a dime a dozen has become more and more prevalent in the NFL. You’ve seen more and more backs fall in the draft and more and more teams let backs walk. You’re either a star or you’re replaceable. So, when the Denver Broncos told C.J. Anderson on Tuesday that they plan to keep him around, it came with the caveat that the expect him to be a star.
“The key thing is —when I talked to him I said we have high expectations for him,” Broncos general manager and vice president of football operations John Elway told media Tuesday. “We want to get better on the offensive side and he’s going to be the guy to lead that when it comes to the running game. We have high expectations for him and we think he has the ability to do that so we’re glad he’s back.
“I think anytime they extend when they come off of a rookie contract like he is they step up,” Elway added. “That’s what I told C.J., ‘The expectations of you as a leader as well as somebody that’s a part of this organization, all of those expectations go up.’ So with the rise in pay also go the rise in expectations, I think C.J. understands that and I think he’s ready to handle that.”
Anderson’s contract is four years and $18 million. The Broncos had a chance to retain Anderson at a cheaper price by placing a second round tender on him, which he would have signed, but they opted to use just a late-round tender allowing C.J. to test the market, something Elway says he doesn’t regret.
“No, no we’re glad we got him tied up for four years, we found out what his market value was,” he told. “Obviously, he had been with Gase here so Gase had an interest in him down in Miami as well as Chicago showed interest. Overall when we look at the package we think it’s a fair package for what he’s going to do.”
The signing of Anderson keeps the Broncos from losing another key piece of their championship squad and keeps a high character guy in their facility.
“Continuity is important,” Elway said. “Plus we know C.J., we know what kind of guy he is, what kind of player he is, he’s a guy we like to have in the locker room and a guy that can accept the elevation in responsibility. When you have success it’s always going to be tougher because there’s a lot pf people that want your people because of the success that we’ve had. We’ve dealt with that year in and year out and we’ll continue to deal with it.”
As they deal with the rest of the league trying to poach their roster the Broncos will keep one goal in mind.
“We try to do the best we can to keep the right people together,” explained the Broncos legend.
The Broncos determined that a high character guy who is third in the league in yards per carry since he entered the NFL was one of those people.
