Would the Denver Broncos Start Two Rookie Safeties?

With the NFL and NFLPA so close to reaching an agreement on a new CBA, new numbers are coming out with projections of teams’ salary caps as well as free agency rumors. The Denver Broncos have been linked to a number of players in free agency, namely DeAngelo Williams who is expected to be the top running back available this offseason. However, how can the Broncos sign Williams if they have no money under the cap to do so?

ESPN.com reported via their AFC West blog that the Broncos would be roughly $770,000 under the new estimated $120 million salary cap. The Denver Post said that the Broncos would have to be even more creative, saying that Denver’s current roster number was about $129 million, or $9 million OVER the cap. That means that the Broncos would have to cut bait with some of their more expensive veteran players, two of which play the safety position.

While the calculations of the Broncos’ salary cap are in major question–as well as every reported salary cap number right now should be–it definitely raises an interesting question of whether or not the Broncos would cut their two starting safeties from a year ago (Brian Dawkins, Renaldo Hill) and start from scratch at the position, in which case, two high-profile rookies would be in the mix.

Second round pick Rahim Moore and fourth round pick Quinton Carter were my top two safeties heading into last year’s draft, and the Broncos did well to pick them up. Moore showed as a sophomore that he could be one of the best ball-hawks in the country, picking off 10 passes in one season. Carter had an all-around great season on his way to All American status as a senior in 2010, just a year after he and Oklahoma made it to the National Championship game.

These two guys would not be long shots by any means to start for the Broncos if they are forced to cut Dawkins and Hill this offseason. In fact, with Darcel McBath’s injury history, it wouldn’t surprise me at all. This is all hypothetical of course, but with the new league year looming, you have to expect everything, including the unexpected.