Another Buc moves on - John Lynch signs with Broncos.

wilheim · Mar 22, 2004

The Broncos reached a three-year, $9 million agreement with former Bucs safety John Lynch.
Included in the deal is a $2.5 million signing bonus.
Lynch, 32, took the weekend to think about his opportunities and was considering a trip to talk to the Oakland Raiders, who signed former teammate Warren Sapp on Saturday. But Lynch decided to go to the Broncos over the Jets when Denver's offer went to $3 million a season.
It was a tough choice to not go to the Jets. Lynch is the godfather of coach Herman Edwards' only child and he is very tight with the Jets coach.
The Broncos had a busy Monday. Along with signing Lynch, the Broncos signed former Chargers defensive end Raylee Johnson to a three-year, $3.3 million deal that included a $1 million signing bonus, and former Lions defensive tackle Luther Elliss.
The timing of Lynch's agreement was interesting. He accepted his deal with the Broncos close to the time of a Raiders press conference involving Sapp.
The hard-hitting Lynch, recognized as a team leader, played 11 seasons with the Bucs. He played last season with bone spurs in his neck, but he received clearance to play from doctors two weeks ago.

ESPN.com.

wil.

WildBill · Mar 22, 2004

Shanahan is making a firm statement here he is thinking Championship and nothing less. Biggest holes in the team were corner and safety and putting in Bailey and Lynch pretty much says it all. The guys they signed on the line are interesting add ons, if they both pan out are they going to send Pryce back inside?

You have to love a coach that is willing to gamble trading his team MVP away to fill holes that were blatantly exposed in the playoff loss

winkyduck · Mar 22, 2004

as a die-hard broncos fan i guess i should be happy about this - right? if so - i am. we still need someone to replace portis, though.

wilheim · Mar 22, 2004

Wink, not sure where they draft, but maybe they can pick up a back in the 1st round that they can plug right in as they have in the past.

wil.

WildBill · Mar 22, 2004

I am a die-hard fan too Winky. I think Shanahan is going to pick up someone for sure, but he says he is ready to go with Griffith for now. I wouldn't be surprised even if he found another trade around draft time. Buffalo could unload Travis Henry, the type of runner that I think Shanahan likes with good receiving skills to boot. And he is a sure bet to take a back by the end of the second round.

Frankly I am not worried at all. I think in year two of Plummer he expects the passing game to be a much bigger factor. He let Portis carry the offense last year, but there are too many weapons around to be a ground-based game. It puts the team in a bad spot when they fall behind, they could never mount comebacks when teams expected them to throw.

AAA15 · Mar 22, 2004

I think Lynch is a great addition. Would of liked the Eagles to have made a move for him.

Igetp2s · Mar 23, 2004

Terry Bradway of the Jets is quickly becoming one of the worst GM's in the league. His last 2 offseasons have been brutal, and he has not fired Paul Hackett, one of the worst offensive coordinators in the league the last 3 years.

Lynch is a guy the Jets should have gotten, especially with his relationship with Herm.

Fire Him Now.