By Jordan Long
The Denver Broncos will have a mandatory minicamp from June 13h to the 15th. After that, the players break until training camp in late July. Denver just signed defensive end Frank Clark who they hope will improve their rush defense as well as put more pressure on quarterbacks.
Clark will be entering his 9th NFL season. The Broncos are his 3rd team. Clark suited up for Seattle from 2015 to 2018. In Seattle he became one of their best defensive players, collecting 35 sacks. Clark had 2 seasons of 10-plus sacks with Seattle including a career high 13 in 2018. He was also key in stopping the opponent’s run game with a total of 92 tackles. Of those 35 were for a loss.
In the 2019 offseason, Seattle tried to keep him and put the franchise tag on him, anticipating they would reach a long-term agreement. Unfortunately, that never happened. On April 23rd, 2019, Clark was dealt to Kansas City. Seattle received a first-round pick and a swap of picks in the third-round of the 2019 NFL draft as well as a 2020 second-round selection.
In Kansas City Clark’s number slipped, but he was still a force on the defense. He had 23.5 sacks and 127 tackles. Of those tackles, 32 were for a loss. Clark also put pressure on the quarterbacks with 59 quarterback hits. His play helped Kansas City win two Super Bowls.
This past season, Clark totaled 5 sacks and 39 tackles. Of course, Kansas City won the Super Bowl. On March 7th, Clark became a free agent after Kansas City released him, saving the franchise $21 million in cap space.
Clark was waiting for another opportunity. It took a while but he agreed to a 1-year deal with Denver. It is worth a base salary of $5.5 million but Clark can earn $2 million more through incentives.
The Broncos knew they wanted to improve the pass rush from last year. The Broncos totaled just 36 last year, ranking 23rd in the NFL. The Broncos expect Clark to be part of the solution. Even if Clark doesn’t bring the quarterback down, his pressures could force the quarterback to throw the football sooner than he wants to which can equal turnovers. This is a great move for the Denver defense as they look to be one of the best in the NFL with the goal of earning a playoff spot for the first time since Super Bowl 50.
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