The Broncos have re-signed 25-year old LB Wesley Woodyard to a 2-year deal.  Woodyard played in 15 games for the Broncos last year and he had 97 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 3 forced fumbles and 2 passes defensed.  He has now played in 58 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 233 tackles, 1 sack, 4 forced fumbles, 1 interception, 5 passes defensed and 7 tackles for a loss.  This was a good signing for the Broncos as Woodyard is coming off of the best season of his NFL career in 2011.

The Broncos have re-signed 29-year old OG Manuel Ramirez.  Ramirez played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Broncos last year.  He has now played in 20 games (15 starts) in his first five years in the NFL.  It was smart to bring back Ramirez as he will give the Broncos depth on the interior of the offensive line.

The Broncos have signed 35-year old QB Peyton Manning to a 5-year, $96 million dollar deal.  Manning missed all of last season due to neck surgery.  Manning played in 16 games in 2010 with the Colts and he completed 450 of 679 passes (66.3%) for 4,700 yards with 33 TD passes and 17 INTs (91.9 QB Rating).  Manning also carried the ball 18 times for 18 yards (1.0 ypc) for the Colts in 2010.  Manning has now played in 208 games in his first 14 years in the NFL and he has completed 4,682 of 7,210 (64.9%) passes for 54,828 yards with 399 TD passes and 198 INTs (94.9 QB Rating).  Manning has also carried the ball 346 times for 722 yards (2.1 ypc) with 17 TD runs so far in his career.  Manning is 141-67 (67.8%) as a starting QB in the NFL during the regular season.  This move likely signals the end of Tim Tebow’s time in Denver as the Broncos will try to deal him before the NFL Draft.

The Broncos have re-signed 26-year old LB Joe Mays.  Mays played in all 16 games for the Broncos last year and he had 75 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss and 2 passes defensed.  He has played in 28 games in his first two years with the Broncos and he has 115 tackles, 3 passes defensed and 11 tackles for a loss.  This was a smart move for the Broncos as Mays keeps getting better.

The Broncos have signed 30-year old safety Mike Adams.  Adams played in all 16 games for the Browns last year and he had 64 tackles, 6 passes defensed, 3 interceptions, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.  Adams has now played in 114 games in his first 8 years in the NFL and he has 398 tackles, 36 passes defensed, 12 interceptions (1 returned for a TD), 7 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 6 fumble recoveries.  The Broncos expect Adams to step right into the starting lineup in 2012.  This was a good pickup for them.

The NFL has suspended 23-year old TE Virgil Green for the first four games of the 2012 season as he has tested positive for a drug used for to control ADHD before obtaining an exemption from the league.  He will be able to take the medicine going forward.  Green played in 15 games as a rookie for the Broncos last year and he caught 3 passes for 24 yards (8.0 avg).  Green also had 4 tackles working on special teams.

The NFL has suspended 29-year old inside linebacker D.J. Williams for the first six games of the 2012 NFL season as he has tested positive for performance enhancing drugs.  Williams played in 13 games for the Broncos last year and he had 90 tackles, 5 sacks, 5 tackles for a loss, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed.  Williams has now played in 120 games in his first 8 years with the Broncos and he has 810 tackles, 51 tackles for a loss, 20.5 sacks, 13 forced fumbles, 7 fumble recoveries, 37 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  This is a big blow to the Broncos as Williams is one of their best defensive players.

The Broncos have lost 27-year old DE/DT Ryan McBean for the first six games of the 2012 season due to an NFL suspension as he tested positive for using performance enhancers.  McBean played in all 16 games for the Broncos last year and he had 33 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss and 4 sacks.  McBean has played in 46 games in his first three years with the Broncos and he has 77 tackles, 4 sacks, 5 tackles for a loss and 1 fumble recovery.  Maybe the drugs contributed to McBean in 2011 as it was by far the best year of his young NFL career.

The Denver Broncos have used their franchise tag on 27-year old kicker Matt Prater.  Prater played in all 16 games for the Broncos last year and he made 19 of 25 (76%) field goals and all 30 of his extra points good for 87 points.  He has now played in 62 games in his first five years with the Broncos and he has made 90 of 112 field goals (80.4%) and 129 of 131 extra points good for 399 points.  This was a good move for the Broncos as Prater is good in the clutch and also at making longer field goals.

The Broncos have signed 26-year old WR Jason Hill.  Hill played in 10 games for the Jaguars last year and he caught 25 passes for 367 yards (14.7 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has now played in 48 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 76 receptions for 1,028 yards (13.5 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  The Broncos have a weak WRing corps, so Hill might be able to make the team in 2012.