It might come as a surprise to discover that former Denver Broncos guard Dalton Risner still remains available on the free-agent market. The durable interior blocker only missed four games total over the four years he spent playing in Denver, but he did finish last season on injured reserve.
It's safe to assume that the 27-year-old's injured elbow is healed by now, so his failure to catch on elsewhere is puzzling. 9NEWS' Mike Klis provided an update on Wednesday, reporting that, per Risner, there are "seven teams that have serious interest" in his services.
Free agency can be an enormously fickle process. Jump into a deal too early, and you can profit — or get burned in equal measure. If Risner has been playing a waiting game, he had better hope that interested teams create a bidding war and drive up his price tag.
Somewhat ironically, by moving on from Risner, the Broncos' front office did much to set the market value for interior linemen. The four-year, $52 million deal Denver gave guard Ben Powers confirmed not made Risner's departure certain, but quite possibly skewed his own expectations.
Risner’s failure to build upon the standard he set as a rookie coming out of Kansas State is the biggest reason he remains out of work. Add in a late-season sideline altercation with Brett Rypien in Los Angeles, and you can see why teams have pushed Risner significantly down their wishlists.
It's unfortunate that teams might perceive Risner to be a problem. After all, he's been a model citizen off the field ever since he was drafted in the second round back in 2019. Despite his failure to really become a top-caliber NFL guard, his flexibility and experience playing tackle in college would ostensibly be valuable to a host of needy teams.
Previously, the native of Wiggins, Colorado, was rumored to have garnered the most concrete interest for the Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants, and Cincinnati Bengals. Risner's representatives will be keen to close a deal sooner rather than later, and provide him enough time to immerse himself in his new playbook ahead of the 2023 season.
Risner might have to reset his monetary objectives fairly substantially in order to make things work out and get the fresh start he obviously needs. That might now come in the shape of signing a one-year prove-it type deal until he gets another bite at the apple.
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