Broncos LB D.J. Williams Re-Structures Deal, Frees Another $3.6 Million

Take a deep breath, Broncos fans, this is not an alert that Denver has released its superstar linebacker D.J. Williams. 

Mike Klis of the Denver Post is reporting that by essentially changing "one word" in his contract, linebacker D.J. Williams has saved the Broncos another $3.6 million in cap space.

For this, Williams was rewarded with the possibility of a bonus being changed to a certainty.  Essentially, instead of receiving his roster bonus on March 2nd, that same bonus of $4.5 million will be spread out over the remaining five years of Williams' contract.

On the eve of the 2008 season, Williams signed a new five-year deal with Denver, at a reported $30 million.  There was no hesitation on Williams' part, because he now will be guaranteed $900,000 per season in roster bonuses.

This move also makes sense for Denver because at the NFL Scouting Combine, they will be trying to re-structure the contracts of both center Casey Wiegmann and wide receiver Brandon Marshall.  Both players have one year left on their deals, with Wiegmann possibly becoming an unrestricted free agent and Marshall a restricted free agent.

Another player set to receive a roster bonus is linebacker Boss Bailey, who played decent when healthy, but is guilty by association with the awful Denver defense.  He is set to receive $2 million in bonuses and GM Brian Xanders, along with Head Coach Josh McDaniels will probably go down to the wire deciding if he deserves a spot on this team for 2009.

His skills don't really translate to the 3-4 defensive scheme, but if he is willing to take a pay cut he may stay.  If I were betting on it, I'd say his days in Denver are numbered.

With the recent slew of cuts and now the re-structuring of Williams' contract, the Broncos have opened up about $30 million in cap space.