Broncos Called On to Re-Sign ILB Alexander Johnson
If the current Denver Broncos roster were a sundae, Alexander Johnson could represent the proverbial cherry.
This, according to Pro Football Network's Dallas Robinson, who identified linebacker as the Broncos' biggest remaining roster need and the three-year starter as the solution — "the most obvious" move to be made ahead of the 2022 season.
"General manager George Paton brought back Josey Jewell and signed Alex Singleton, but Johnson would add another physical body to the team’s linebacker room," Robinson wrote Monday.
A former undrafted free agent, Johnson joined the Broncos in 2018 and has since appeared in 38 games (34 starts), tallying 249 combined tackles (143 solo), 11 tackles-for-loss, 11 quarterback hits, eight pass breakups, 4.5 sacks, and four forced fumbles across 2,118 defensive snaps, the majority of which occurred under ex-head coach Vic Fangio.
Johnson led the club in tackles in 2020 and last season graded out as Pro Football Focus' top-rated 'backer against the run prior to suffering a torn pectoral on Oct. 17.
The injury devastated his NFL stock amid a contract year. As of this writing, Johnson, 30, remains available on the open market, having made no known free-agent visits.
Denver's management evidently turned the page on the "Dinosaur," re-signing Jewell and Jonas Griffith and bringing aboard Singleton to reshape its inside linebacker position — a devalued position to new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.
"Jewell is the better coverage defender, so he’d still be out there in 1LB subpackages," Robinson conceded. "Johnson’s run-defending abilities shouldn’t be taken for granted, and he’d likely welcome a return to Denver after generating next to no interest in free agency."
Thing is, the feeling must be mutual for a reunion with the "Denver Dinosaur." And, to this point, it's not. Or else it would've happened by now.
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