Why the Broncos traded Andy Janovich

DENVER — Forget about 22 Janos. The Broncos don’t even have one Jano anymore.

On Tuesday, the Broncos agreed to trade starting fullback Andy Janovich to the Cleveland Browns for a 2021 seventh-round pick, a source confirmed to DNVR.

Janovich had become a staple in Denver’s offense since the Broncos drafted him in 2016 in the sixth round, playing in 50 games over the past four seasons. However, two separate injuries limited the bowling-ball blocker to just seven games in 2019.

But injuries didn’t have anything to do with Denver shipping a fan favorite out of town. According to a source, there were two reasons why John Elway traded Janvoich for a future seventh-round pick.

The first could be traced back to when Denver fired former offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello and replaced him with Pat Shurmur.

Denver’s offense in 2019 under Scangarello required a fullback, making Janovich a key part of the offense. However, fullbacks rarely see the field in Shurmur’s offense, making him not just expendable, but unnecessary.

Because of this, and the second reason why the Nebraska Cornhusker won’t be in Denver in 2020 is Elway wanted to free up additional money to use in free agency.

Under Scangarello, the Broncos gave Janovich a three-year, $5.7 million extension in October. Jano would have had a $1.5 million cap hit in 2020, the first year of his deal. By trading him, Elway freed up over $500,000. If Denver would have cut him, instead of trading him, it would have actually cost the team $500,000.

In his tenure with the Broncos, Jano had four touchdowns, 233 receiving yards and 51 rushing yards. But Jano won’t be remembered for those numbers.

He’ll be remembered by fans for driving a 20-year-old, beat-up truck and former special teams coach Brock Olivo’s infamous quote about the special teams all star.

“Jano — love Jano. Jano, to me — if we had 22 Janos, we would be all right,” Olivo said in 2017.

On the field, Janovich had a very specific role.

“He’s a fixer. He makes the offense run. He’s part of the offensive line,” Phillip Lindsay said in October. “When things go wrong, he fixes it. If someone on the offensive line goes for his man, he’s replacing [him]. If he sees something that’s odd, he’s out there replacing it. Receiving blocking, anything he can do. Everybody knows that Jano is a beast on special teams.”

The Broncos could never get their hands on 22 Janos. Now they don’t even have one.