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Veteran QB Ramsey on board

He has started 24 games in his five NFL seasons

Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News

Published March 8, 2007 at midnight

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Mark another item off the Broncos' offseason checklist: backup quarterback.

The NFL's most aggressive team in free agency and via the trade route during the past week agreed to terms Wednesday with former first-round pick Patrick Ramsey to handle the job behind second-year starter Jay Cutler.

The addition of Ramsey, who has started 24 games in his five pro seasons, gives the Broncos their first experienced No. 2 QB since Danny Kanell and Steve Beuerlein sat behind Jake Plummer four seasons ago - not counting, of course, Plummer's last hurrah behind Cutler in the final month of the 2006 season.

Ramsey will get $4.5 million over two years, just days after Denver lost out to the Dallas Cowboys in trying to lure veteran Brad Johnson.

The Broncos have tried the past several seasons to add a veteran at quarterback: Gus Frerotte, Jeff Garcia, Johnson and, also this week, Anthony Wright.

In the 28-year-old Ramsey, they get a strong-armed player still in his prime who suddenly is playing for his third team in three seasons. He was a part- time starter in the Steve Spurrier era with the Washington Redskins but quickly fell out of favor when Joe Gibbs took over as head coach.

Ramsey was dealt to the New York Jets last season and initially was in the mix for the top job. But he ended up falling to third on the depth chart behind a suddenly healthy Chad Pennington and rookie Kellen Clemens. He was released last week rather than receiving a $1.4 million roster bonus.

He has completed 480 of 862 career throws for 5,649 yards, 34 touchdowns and 29 interceptions.

Ramsey visited Houston on Tuesday but was said to be sold on his definitive role with Denver rather than the uncertainty that currently exists with the Texans.

"I've played a little bit - I've started a few games and I've been in the playoffs the last couple of years, and although I wasn't playing, I experienced that," Ramsey said before leaving for his Denver visit.

"I think, hopefully, just whatever I can bring - whatever I think I've experienced or know something about that I think will help the team. That's what I hope to bring."

FATHER KNOWS BEST: Any qualms about Daniel Graham being distracted by family considerations in his hometown the next few seasons now that he has signed to play in Denver essentially were squelched by his father, Tom, on Wednesday.

"Boston isn't the easiest place to play, and he succeeded and did very well there," the elder Graham said, referring to the tight end's five seasons with the New England Patriots. "And Daniel has a demeanor about him that football is all about business on the field. And I think if he maintains that attitude, there won't be any problems at all."

Tom Graham, who played for Denver from 1972-74, described his son as a "warrior" when the pads go on, something that contrasts with his son's normally laid-back demeanor. And with the other player acquisitions the Broncos have added to their core group, it's Tom Graham's belief that the team might have something special brewing on offense.

"It certainly leaves you with anticipation and hope that they can get back to those days where they're running for 1,500, 1,600, 1,700 yards and, as a result of that, the play-action passes and such are just wide open to your wide receivers as well as your tight ends," Graham said.

"Daniel's just a part of the puzzle that I think (coach Mike) Shanahan is attempting to orchestrate to make this thing what it could be, and has to be, for them to win games."

The player's new five-year, $30 million deal includes a $10 million signing bonus and a $5 million option bonus that's fully guaranteed. He'll cost $2.8 million on the salary cap in 2007.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: Among the chief beneficiaries of Jim Bates' new defensive scheme should be the linebackers.

"I would expect to see big numbers with this group," he said in his introductory meeting with Denver reporters this week.

Bates said middle linebackers in his system have averaged 150 to 210 tackles, led by the Miami Dolphins' Zach Thomas. An additional 130 or more are expected from the weakside position, and the strongside has potential for triple digits, too, Bates said.

"I think history speaks," he said.

Those kinds of totals are partly due to the roles of the front four, whose primary task is to lock up offensive linemen and allow the (defensive) players behind them to run to the ball.

"Speed with us is a premium," said Joe Baker, the team's new linebackers coach. "And these guys are a great fit with our system because of that."

Another change for the linebackers could come in the amount of snaps strongside linebacker D.J. Williams gets next season. The previous defensive coaching staff took him off the field in nickel situations, meaning Williams played less than 70 percent of the team's total defensive snaps. But Baker promised he'll get a fair shot to displace Al Wilson in the nickel role in offseason camps.