Posted August 29, 200519 yr Broncos to release Maurice Clarett By John Clayton ESPN.com Maurice Clarett's gamble for the big dollars in the NFL failed for a second time. The Denver Broncos informed Clarett on Sunday that he is being released. Maurice Clarett was drafted by the Broncos in the third round. Mike Shanahan surprised the league by using a third-round draft choice on the former Ohio State running back in the final selection of the round. The Broncos coach thought he had the cutback style of running that fit in one of the league's best running systems. As it turned out, Shanahan made a mistake and didn't want to waste time admitting it. With Tuesday's deadline for cutting the roster to 65 looming, Clarett, who never made the field in three preseason games, was let go. Clarett first gambled that he could beat the NFL in court after applying despite not being three years out of high school. The case failed and Clarett had to sit out and wait until the 2005 season to get his chance to turn pro. Clarett's second gamble was on his contract. He felt he was a first-round choice and wanted a contract similar to what a first-rounder would receive. To accomplish that, he tried to do get that contract with incentives. The four-year deal he pushed for included no signing bonus. The Broncos were willing to give him a $410,000 signing bonus, but Clarett opted to push that money into workout bonuses in 2006 through 2008. Clarett agreed to only a $230,000 base salary in 2005. If he put up good numbers, Clarett had the opportunity to make $7 million over the four years of his contract. "I'd love to see someone pick up the contract," Clarett's agent, Steven Feldman, told The Associated Press. "The way the incentives in the contract are, he won't get them with another team." By releasing him, the Broncos won't take any cap hit. It also appears unlikely that they would sign him to their practice squad, although that remains an option if Shanahan is interested. For the moment, the Broncos are three deep in halfbacks. Mike Anderson is expected to be the opening day starter. Tatum Bell should be the backup, and Shanahan likes what he sees from former Giants No. 1 pick Ron Dayne. Despite his failure in Denver, Clarett should receive some interest from other teams although it is likely teams may not want to claim his four-year contract. There is a 24-hour waiver claim period that begins Monday when he goes on the league waiver wire. If he is cleared by Tuesday at 4 p.m., Clarett is eligible to sign with any team in the league. "I'm not real confident of anything at this point," Feldman told the AP. "We'll see what happens now." John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
August 29, 200519 yr Man am I glad Chris Perry has established himself this pre-season because our coaches liked Clarett. *potential bullet dodged*
August 29, 200519 yr It's not often that Denver cant do something with a RB...you should feel so proud that you couldn't make it with a team that is the best at producing RBs in the NFL. Carolina will probably pick him up, Foster and Davis are injury prone, and 2nd round pick Eric Helton is not doing so hot. Their running game is their one weakness.
August 29, 200519 yr It's not often that Denver cant do something with a RB...you should feel so proud that you couldn't make it with a team that is the best at producing RBs in the NFL. Carolina will probably pick him up, Foster and Davis are injury prone, and 2nd round pick Eric Helton is not doing so hot. Their running game is their one weakness. 920058[/snapback] You really don't do any research do you....sorry rhetorical statement....First off it's Eric Shelton who is their 2nd round pick and he would be 4th on their depth chart behind Foster, Davis and Nick Goings who had 821 yards last year......actually Shelton might be 5th on the depth chart because Rod Smart is there....So really Carolina is the last place he's going to go....he's more likely to go to the CFL then Carolina...hell he'll coach High School football before Carolina goes after him.
August 29, 200519 yr It's not often that Denver cant do something with a RB...you should feel so proud that you couldn't make it with a team that is the best at producing RBs in the NFL.? Carolina will probably pick him up, Foster and Davis are injury prone, and 2nd round pick Eric Helton is not doing so hot.? Their running game is their one weakness. 920058[/snapback] You really don't do any research do you....sorry rhetorical statement....First off it's Eric Shelton who is their 2nd round pick and he would be 4th on their depth chart behind Foster, Davis and Nick Goings who had 821 yards last year......actually Shelton might be 5th on the depth chart because Rod Smart is there....So really Carolina is the last place he's going to go....he's more likely to go to the CFL then Carolina...hell he'll coach High School football before Carolina goes after him. 920080[/snapback] Goings is a fullback and second on the depth chart behind Brad Hoover(unless they put him on the depth chart as a HB and listed Cramer as a FB). And I know it's Eric Shelton I misspelled it, I am sorry, I am sure it's never happened to you. Power runner out of Louisville. Drafted DUE TO FOSTER AND DAVIS being injury prone. And he is not working out. As I said before, strong defense, great QB, good wide recievers just hoping Drew/Stubblefield can make up for the loss of Muhammad, running game is their only weakness. Rod Smart and Nick Goings are no more the answer than Maurice Clarett.
August 29, 200519 yr Nice use of a third rounder, Shanny. 920090[/snapback] Really. What the hell were they thinking? And this is still my favorite sport picture in the last few years...
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