Warren's stock plummets

Tackle got huge deal in 2006 but appears to be out

Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 15, 2007 at midnight

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DALLAS - He once was must- see TV.

That was how Gerard Warren became a Denver Broncos defensive tackle, how he found a $36 million contract on the table in front of him just a little more than one year ago.

And that's how he now finds himself on the trading block with the possibility of being the No. 3 pick of the 2001 draft traded for the second time in a two-year span or even released if no deal can be struck soon.

"All you have to do is look at the film; the film speaks for itself," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said when Denver traded a fourth-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for Warren in 2005.

And by most accounts, that same video, just more than two years later, is why the Broncos were poised to ship the tackle to another team or release him outright.

Because now, by their actions, it's clear the Broncos see a player who doesn't exactly fit their defensive scheme, one whose conditioning suffered through an injury- marred 2006 season and one who still hasn't regained his form of 2005, his first season in Denver that led to his hefty six-year contract.

"You just never say never in this league," safety John Lynch said. "I hope Gerard is with us. . . . You try not to worry about things one way or the other until they are done. But we are playing a different defense than last year, especially for the guys up front. It's a big difference for those guys.

"From our perspective as players, we're still teammates, we still love him; that's how we approach it until we hear otherwise."

The Broncos still were talking with two teams - one is believed to be the Washington Redskins - about dealing Warren, but those prospective deals had not heated up to a point of finishing one as of early Tuesday evening.

And if no deal is worked out with either of those teams, some around the Broncos expect Warren would be released.

There has been no move from any team to request Warren restructure his contract - his salary is just less than $600,000 for this season, but those salary figures jump to more than $4 million in 2008, 2009 and 2010, the last three years of his deal - which likely would indicate if a deal was imminent.

"It's competition right now," defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy said. "I think that's how (the Broncos) are looking at it. I think all of us know that."

It all means Warren has gone from a player Shanahan said should be a no-question pick for the Pro Bowl after the 2005 season, one who was selected in front of LaDainian Tomlinson in the draft, to a player deemed a less- than-perfect fit for the team's defensive scheme.

Assistant head coach/defense Jim Bates wants defensive tackles to engage the blocker in front of them, anchor and cover the two gaps on each side of the blocker.

Warren traditionally has preferred to pick a gap and be a get-up-the-field player looking to penetrate rather than anchor.

The result has been Warren, according to some in the Broncos organization, has been slower to adapt to Bates' scheme.

Bates' desire for more beef in the middle also is why the team traded for Kennedy in July, why Sam Adams was signed and why Amon Gordon has moved up the depth chart when he did not under former coordinator Larry Coyer.

"I've been running with Gerard since I was a rookie in Cleveland," said Gordon, who started in Warren's right defensive tackle spot Monday night in San Francisco. "He's a good guy. I learned a tremendous amount about the game from Gerard Warren. He pretty much took me under his wing and told me the things he knows. It really helped me out. And I owe some of my game and what I've done playing this game to him."

There also is the matter that Shanahan already had made it clear to Warren privately and publicly he expected an upgrade from the defensive tackle in the upcoming season from his play in 2006.

Warren injured both big toes during the 2006 season - the first injury coming during training camp, the second in an Oct. 22 game in Cleveland - and he finished with 51 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks in his 15 starts.

The sack total was his lowest since 2002.

Asked earlier this year if Warren had played as well in 2006 as he did in 2005, Shanahan said, "Um, no. He can play better than he played last year. Gerard knows it and we know it. Part of it is he never really got in great shape after that toe injury. He never did get back into football shape; it bothered him throughout most of the season. Now I'm looking for him to play at a Pro Bowl level."

There also is the belief at least part of the reason Shanahan fired some of the defensive assistant coaches during the offseason was a disagreement in reports done after the season about how each of the team's players had played.

Andre Patterson, who had coached the team's defensive tackles, was one of the assistants fired, as was Coyer.

Warren last season said the Broncos were "a perfect fit" for him. It appears now the Broncos certainly don't agree any more.

legwoldj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2359

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