The Denver Broncos may very well find themselves without their entire starting backfield from a season ago, both within the matter of a week.
The very same day that Peyton Manning announced his retirement from the NFL, Denver placed the lowest possible restricted free agent tender on running back C.J. Anderson (via Pro Football Talk).
Considering Anderson himself signed with the Broncos as an un-drafted free agent back in 2013, this means Denver will not get any compensation should it fail to match an offer another team might present his way.
After jumping on to the scene with nearly 1,200 total yards in 15 games (seven starts) as a sophomore in 2014, Anderson took a dramatic step back to start the 2015 campaign.
He tallied just 181 rushing yards on 67 attempts over the course of Denver’s first six games. Anderson followed that up by putting up 539 yards and an average of 6.3 yards in his final nine games.
Considering Anderson is also coming off a stellar postseason performance and has a track record of success, it stands to reason that he will receive a decent offer on the open market. If so, the salary-cap strapped Broncos are going to have a hard time matching.
With Ronnie Hillman also slated to become a free agent on Wednesday, this could put Denver in a precarious position at running back.
Though, there has to be some thought given to the idea of reuniting former Houston Texans running back Arian Foster with Gary Kubiak. Foster had his most success in the NFL with Kubiak manning the sideline in Houston.
As it is, the defending champs are among the most intriguing teams heading into free agency. They have a whole host of free agents, and with that, a ton of decisions to make — Anderson being one.