NFL Notes: Broncos, Falcons, Lions, Redskins

Broncos

• Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post expects the Broncos to sign at least one starting offensive tackle in free agency, while an upgrade at guard could also be in order.
• Wolfe mentions Ravens RT Rick Wagner, Bengals LT Andrew Whitworth, Lions RT Riley Reiff, Lions G Larry Warford and Cowboys G Ronald Leary as possible free agents that would fit the team’s needs.
• Wolfe writes that signing Cardinals impending free agent DE Calais Campbell makes sense for Denver due to his abilities as a pass rusher and run defender.

Falcons

• The Falcons announced that they have converted WRs coach Raheem Morris to become their passing game coordinator.

Lions

• Lions impending free agent QB Dan Orlovsky indicated via his Twitter account Saturday that he could be on his way out of Detroit.
• Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes that Orlovsky is a “long shot” to return since sixth-round QB Jake Rudock was promoted from the Lions’ practice squad with the intention of backing up Matthew Stafford.

Redskins

• John Keim of ESPN could see Redskins QB Kirk Cousins exceeding Colts QB Andrew Luck‘s average salary of $24.594 million, but is unsure if he will match Luck’s guarantees of $87 million.
• Although surpassing Luck’s contract would make him the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback, there is a chance Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford and Derek Carr all receive lucrative contract extensions this offseason that could pay out higher than Luck’s contract. As a result, Cousins could see his price tag increase if he signs an extension after these players are addressed by their respective teams.
• For what it’s worth, Keim writes that Cousins’ agent is “well aware” of their leverage towards negotiations given that his franchise tag figure of $23.94 million is likely to be his base asking price.
• Interesting enough, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk points out that the Redskins could use the transition tag on Cousins in 2018 instead of the franchise tag, which would pay $28.78 million in 2018 as opposed to $34.47 million. The transition tag would result in a 20 percent increase from the $23.94 million owed for the 2017 franchise tag.