When it comes to free agency, Denver is in the hurry-up

Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 13, 2006 at midnight

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HONOLULU - No team has moved faster than the Denver Broncos into free agency.

The Broncos signed center Tom Nalen to a three-year contract extension just days after they lost the AFC Championship Game and signed safety Sam Brandon to a four-year deal while the coaching staff was still in Hawaii for the Pro Bowl.

"We try to get everything done as quickly as possible," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. "We have to be ready for March."

Free agency around the league begins March 3, and teams also have to be under the salary cap for the first time by then.

The Broncos also already have begun preliminary talks for a contract renegotiation for left tackle Matt Lepsis.

"You have to give them credit - (general manager) Ted Sundquist and (director of football administration) Mike Bluem - they decided quickly they wanted Sam back and we got something done," said Brandon's representative, Michael Hoffman. "Sam's happy. Certainly, he's like everybody and he still aspires to be a starter, but he's happy with the situation in Denver."

According to documents filed with the league and the NFL Players' Association, the Broncos wanted Brandon enough to have signed him to a four-year deal. The fourth year does void if Brandon meets certain incentives, including playing time.

Brandon received a $340,000 signing bonus to go with base salaries of $550,000 in 2006, $650,000 in '07 and $750,000 in '08. If the contract is not voided in '09, he would receive $850,000.

Shanahan called Nalen "the centerpiece" of the offensive line and said the Broncos wanted the veteran center to finish his career with the team. Brandon, he said, was coming off his best "year as a Denver Bronco" and they wanted insurance on the roster because starting safeties John Lynch and Nick Ferguson are 34 and 32, respectively.

"Not just because of that, but because of his production, too," Shanahan said. "But as guys get older and guys (get hurt), you like having somebody with experience who can go in there and play. Sam gives us that."

BLOODIED: Broncos receiver Rod Smith was left with blood on his shirt after the game Sunday. The veteran suffered a small cut over his left eye after he dived for a pass from Tennessee's Steve McNair in the final seconds.

Smith landed hard and an NFC defender then landed on top of him. He stayed down for a few minutes, then walked to the AFC sideline.

"My helmet, with the sweat, just got turned a little bit and when everybody landed on me, it cut me," Smith said. "But I should have caught that ball.

"I wanted to win that game. We had so many opportunities. When you don't work with a bunch of guys all the time, it's just hard to get that timing down."

NO SURGERY: Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey, who played much of the season wearing a harness on the left shoulder he dislocated in the season opener in Miami, said he won't need surgery in the off-season to repair the shoulder.

"That's not the plan right now," Bailey said. "The plan right now is to leave it like it is. I'll be fine with a little rest."

TOUGH DAY: Indianapolis' Peyton Manning, who played the first half and finished 13-for-26 passing for 139 yards and a touchdown, had the first three-interception game in the Pro Bowl by a quarterback in three years.

Manning was the first to throw three interceptions in the game since former San Francisco quarterback Jeff Garcia threw three in 2003.

While defenses cannot blitz in the Pro Bowl, that does leave plenty of players in coverage, and those players were more than willing to scoop up what they could.

Manning's third interception came as the AFC was driving just before halftime. After throwing a 6-yard pass to teammate Marvin Harrison to get the ball to the 50-yard with slightly more 30 seconds left in the half - Manning had tapped his chest and signaled to Harrison before the snap that he was coming his way - Cowboys safety Roy Williams was waiting on the next throw.

Williams swooped in as Manning tried to find Harrison again.

ETC.: Many of the players do not play special teams during the season but made an appearance Sunday. Broncos linebacker Al Wilson and Smith were on the AFC's kickoff-return team Sunday . . . Wilson was one of the five captains for the game selected by the AFC's players, along with Manning, Ravens tackle Jonathan Ogden, Steelers safety Troy Polamalu and Chiefs guard Will Shields . . . Each of the six quarterbacks who played in the game had at least one turnover. In addition to Manning's interceptions, Kansas City's Trent Green, Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck and Atlanta's Michael Vick each had an interception. McNair and Carolina's Jake Delhomme lost fumbles.

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