ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — There’s a dark cloud hanging directly over the Denver Broncos locker room right now.
Fittingly, also located somewhere above the Denver Broncos locker room, is the office of one John Albert Elway Jr., the Zeus of Denver Broncos mythology, God of the Orange & Blue skies, commander of storms.
That cloud sitting above the locker room, unmistakable to those walking below it, is the manifestation of Elway’s frustration, the embodiment of his intolerance for losing.
“If you look at the leadership that we have here, two times not going to the playoffs is just not going to ride,” Broncos linebacker Von Miller said on Thursday, during a presser in which he paraded his love for being brutally honest.
Change is coming, that’s certain. Where the change will strike, that’s not as certain, but the overarching feeling in the cloudy locker room is that nobody is safe.
The ‘No Fly Zone?’
“I think it might come to an end soon,” said Chris Harris Jr.
Players under contract through 2019?
“Not only are you playing for if you want to be in Blue & Orange next year, but you’re also playing for 31 other teams, too,” said C.J. Anderson.
Anderson, Aqib Talib, Brandon Marshall, Emmanuel Sanders, Darian Stewart, Virgil Green; the list of players with Super Bowl rings and buzz around their name, suggesting they won’t be Broncos next year, is nearly endless.
Heck, Miller appears to be one of a very select few—coaches included—that feels comfortable with his standing on the team moving forward, and that explains why he is A-OK with what’s coming down the pike.
“There are going to be some drastic changes this offseason, and I’m all for it,” he said. “I want to get back in the mode to being competitive and winning.”
He’s so confident, in fact, that he sounds like a full-fledged member of the front office.
“Me and John, we work together. I’m right along with whatever he’s thinking,” Miller explained. “We see eye-to-eye on everything that’s happening. I’m right there with him. I’m going to follow his lead until the ship burns down. I’m with him, together.”
Not everyone, though, is a perennial Pro Bowler with more than $29 million due in dead money next season, and that’s why many players feel like they’re walking on eggshells.
On Friday of Week 17, the Broncos may as well have been signing yearbooks in the locker room. Many teammates who experienced the highest of the highs together may not see each other again until the 10-year Super Bowl 50 reunion.
“Have a kickass summer!”
Only time will tell what the future holds. Until then, everyone in Orange & Blue will have one eye fixed directly over their shoulder.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” Harris said. “We don’t know if we’re going to rebuild or are we trying to win a Super Bowl next year. We don’t know the plans.”
With only Elway truly knowing who will wear the proverbial cap and gown, graduation ceremonies commence at 2:25 on Sunday.
