Jurrell Casey trade to Broncos is one of AFC West’s savviest moves

We’d rather not acknowledge it, but it’s impossible to ignore the fact that the Denver Broncos trade for Jurrell Casey was a savvy move.

It pains me to admit how much I loved the Denver Broncos offseason, particularly because it was anchored by this incredibly savvy grab from the Tennessee Titans.

Along with Geno Atkins, Jurrell Casey deserves to be twice as popular as he is now, but it’s hard to get noticed by the casual fan when you’re doing the dirty work along the interior of either side of the football. (Just look at the difference in average salary from tackle to guard or center.) However, for a sack artist to bask in his glory, he needs his teammates to free him up enough to earn such sexy stats.

The Titans have enjoyed the disruptive presence of Casey inside the defensive line for nine seasons. After selecting him in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft out of USC, Casey was named a second-team All-Pro in 2013 and then reeled off five consecutive Pro Bowl appearances from 2015 through last season. In other words, Casey’s ability to dominate a game isn’t something discussed in past tense. He’s presently one of the NFL’s great interior defenders.

All of this is why I was left scratching my head when Casey was traded to the Denver Broncos for pennies on the dollar—actually a single seventh round draft pick. In short, it was a pure salary dump and nothing more for the Titans, a team clearly ready to save just over $10 million in cap space by agreeing to the deal.

For the Titans, it was also a chance to put last year’s first round pick Jeffery Simmons in a much better position to succeed playing the 3-technique than playing outside because Casey is in his way.

The Broncos had a real wake-up call on defense last year when playing without Bradley Chubb, who only played in four games. The loss of an elite pass rusher will hurt any team, but Denver’s attack clearly wasn’t the same with no one opposite Von Miller on the edge and a lack of a true disruptive presence inside. No offense to Derek Wolfe, who left for the Baltimore Ravens in free agency, but Casey is a nice upgrade here for Denver.

It’s possible that Casey hits a wall soon. It’s also true that Casey only gets more expensive over the next two seasons, with looming cap hits of $12.2M and $13.85M in 2021 and ’22 respectively. But the Broncos had the requisite cap space, a need in the middle, and there’s no guaranteed money left on Casey’s contract. If he holds up, he can earn those figures year by year on a short series of prove it deals—all acquired for the low, low price of a seventh round draft choice.