Just My Take: Free agency isn’t free, it costs folks like you and me

Denver Broncos fans are a curious bunch.

On a month long high from winning Super Bowl 50, the low came quickly as free agency cracked open like a rotten egg on a hot sidewalk.

Now the refrain of “In Elway We Trust” has quickly devolved into scores of Broncos fans muttering to themselves about the unknown future like a guy on the bus sitting in his own filth.

Sports fans are nuts. Most of you know this because you are one of those nuts. But your average sports fan lives and breathes his or her team to the point that it becomes a magical reality where any slight deviation from the norm sends them into a spiral of despair.

Most are used to losing since only one team can be crowned champion in any sport each year. Well, except in college football, which has such a bad system for determining a winner that it makes ties in soccer look cool. But if any fan base experiences what Broncos fans did recently, the dizzying high can produce such a deadly low that you will want to send some people around to check on them every so often.

And that low is making itself at home as free agency continues to rip apart what seemed like one big happy family in the Denver Broncos.

Malik Jackson, Brock Osweiler and Danny Trevathan, all key components to this miraculous run by the Broncos, cashed in their chips and headed for the buffet. And boy did they eat. But that’s what happens when you win the Super Bowl: all of the loser teams in the NFL will come calling, trying to get some of that magic to rub off on them like traces of glitter from a post buffet visit to a strip club.

And as each of these dominoes fell, the sky tilted and everyone declared that it was falling. But what also started to slip was everyone’s faith in Broncos head man, John Elway. What seemed inconceivable just a few weeks prior, was now a full-blown panic about the illustrious Broncos legend. Had he lost his touch? How could he let this happen?

When Osweiler bolted to the Houston Texans for more money than what Donald Trump spends on bronzer in a year, Broncos Country was gripped with the sudden realization that there wasn’t a legitimate QB running the team. Fair enough. But being overly passionate – and probably bipolar – they forgot that Elway and crew built the team that just won the Super Bowl. And while not an ideal situation, they would certainly not just throw their hands up and say “we tried” and bow out of the 2016 season.

If you recall, the three free agents who commanded all of that money were all drafted by Elway in the later rounds. He spent little on them and when they performed well, Elway let someone else pay them their big ticket contract. If he originally found some bargain players that have now choked off the cap room of other NFL teams, I’m guessing he’ll do it again.

The quarterback situation is a sticky one. And maybe it will have been resolved by the time you read this, but it was the source of much hand-wringing and impassioned lamentations on Twitter over the last few days. Again, the Super Bowl buzz must have turned quickly into a hangover because it seemed everyone forgot two ex-quarterbacks, one a Hall of Famer, are now in charge of the Denver Broncos. Fans are great, but I’m guessing these two know a bit more about selecting a QB than they do.

Super Bowl winning teams get cleaned out faster than a full pantry under the watchful eye of a millennial with a new sack of weed, so no one should be shocked that this is going on. But what most fans need to remember is how a team weathers this storm is the indicator of future success. The New England Patriots have had it happen to them quite a bit over the last few years and they somehow managed to get back into the swing of things fairly quickly. And if you don’t think John Elway has been watching how they do it, you’re probably someone who thinks paying Brock 18 million a year is a good idea. This team will be competitive for a long time because difficult (read: unpopular with the fans) decisions have been made.

The Broncos will be fine. They’ve proven over the last few season under Elway that they know what they’re doing. People act like the Broncos didn’t just win the Super Bowl and we’re all doomed to a continued stretch of misery. But everything is awesome. And if you’re still wringing your hands when the Broncos emerges from free agency relatively unscathed, find the nearest Cleveland Browns fan, gaze upon their sad face and snap the hell out of it.