Broncos' Week in Review: The Kaepernick saga takes another turn

We’re another week into the offseason and another week closer to the NFL Draft, which begins with the first round April 28 in Chicago.

In the meantime, here’s a look at back at the eventful week that was in Broncos Country:

Headline: LB Brandon Marshall says he’s weighing an offseason holdout in his pursuit of a contract extension

Bottom line: Getting into the middle of a player-team salary tiff typically is tricky, and that’s definitely the case here with the Orange & Blue’s current salary cap stretched to the limit and still no quarterback on board (see next item below). But we’re siding with the player here. Marshall is a well-respected figure in the lockerroom who has scraped and clawed his way into prominence after being signed off the Jaguars’ practice squad in 2013. Now, after two seasons with 100-plus tackles, including a team-leading 119 in 2014 while playing with a foot injury, Marshall has been slapped with a second-round tender and is scheduled to make $2.5 million this season. Not that this is to say that Marshall immediately should be handed a four-year, $24.5 million deal like former ILB running mate Danny Trevathan received from the Bears last month, but he does deserve a long-term deal. At the same time, it also would behoove the Broncos to make a pre-emptive strike and find a way to lock him up now as Marshall’s worth, value and pricetag are all pointing north, not south.

Headline: Denver interested in Colin Kaepernick – but at a reduced salary

Bottom line: Ah, the Kaepernick saga. We’re now into month No. 2 of this drama, which took its latest turn this past Thursday when the San Fran quarterback met with John Elway in Denver on the same day his $11.9 million base salary for 2016 became guaranteed. Elway and the Broncos, however, would have a $7 mil salary in mind for Kaepernick, according to various reports, and the QB, understandably, hasn’t been readily amenable to a significant pay cut. The end-game, though, is at hand and expect a deal to consummated at any time.

Headline: Safety Omar Bolden and TE Vernon Davis sign with other teams, becoming the latest former Broncos

Bottom line: The departure of the disappointing Davis has been a foregone conclusion since the mid-season trade acquisition started dropping key passes late in the regular season. The loss of Bolden, however, stings a little more sharply, though, as the Broncos’ best punt returner and both of their backup safeties are now gone, instantly making the position a target area in the draft.

Headline: Broncos take a tumble in latest ESPN offseason power rankings

Bottom line: The defending champs come in at No. 7 in the latest Four-Letter Network expert poll, slipping two spots from the post-Super Bowl ranks. The last two teams the Broncos beat, the Patriots and Panthers, sit atop the rankings and are followed by the Cardinals, Seahawks, Steelers and Packers. Now sure, hey, the free-agency departures are glaring as ESPN points out, but these “experts” seem suspiciously similar to the ones who gave the Orange & Blue little-to-no shot to make as much as a postseason whimper only three months ago.

Headline: Intriguing draft prospect Robert Nkemdiche visits the Mile High City

Bottom line: Could the talented-but-somewhat troubled former Ole Miss standout defensive lineman become the latest first-round gamble who pays off for the Broncos’ D? Well, we’re still a month away from the draft itself – and Denver’s needs could change dramatically in that span – but at the moment, Nkemdiche certainly is on the radar as a possible Malik Jackson replacement.