C.J. Anderson clarifies comment about John Elway following NFC Championship Game

ATLANTA — Denver Broncos president of football operations and general manager John Elway has earned an interesting reputation in the National Football League during his time in Denver’s front office.

When the Broncos were winning the Super Bowl just a couple years ago, he was being lauded as a genius that drove a hard bargain and got what he wanted. As the team has declined since, Elway has been said to bargain too hard, he’s been called a coach killer and many have questioned his standing when it comes to the views of players in the league.

Because of his polarizing image, when players like C.J. Anderson make comments like he made following the NFC Championship Game, it draws serious attention.

While walking through the locker room following the Rams’ big win, Anderson turned to a couple of Denver-based media members, including The Athletic’s Lindsay Jones, and said, “Call Elway and tell him I said Ha Ha!”

While the comment was said with a smile and Anderson’s tongue planted in his cheek, as Jones has since told me, many fans and media had strong reactions to the comment.

We caught up with Anderson in Atlanta and asked him point blank if he has any hard feelings towards the Broncos.

“No, not really,” he said. “I mean, Elway released me. People think I got released for Phillip Lindsay, which is wrong. Phillip had a helluva year this year—Pro Bowl back after being undrafted. As an undrafted guy, I’m happy about that, but I was released for something else. Don’t get me wrong, I gave everything I possibly could to the organization and I have no hard feelings, man. Broncos Country has a special place in my heart because they gave me the opportunity as an undrafted kid.”

As for his feelings on Elway directly, Anderson answered without hesitation.

“I like Elway,” he added. “I’m wishing for him to have success in what he does. I still pay attention to every game just because Denver has a special place in my heart and I wish good luck to the Broncos in the future.”

That’s a far cry from the narrative people were feeding a couple of Sundays ago, and it matches the sentiment we got from Aqib Talib when we asked if he had any hard feelings towards the organization after they traded him for a fifth-round pick last offseason.

“No. Not at all, man,” he echoed. “It’s our business, man. It’s a game, but at the same time, it’s a business. So when you have three cornerbacks making big money and you need a quarterback, something’s gotta give. I ain’t mad, though, John threw the oop and I dunked it. Good shit, baby!”

If these two highly-opinionated players are any indication, maybe Elway isn’t so hated after all.