SoCalBronco
05-20-2005, 12:38 AM
good job Shanny.
Sauerbrun becomes a Bronco
By FRANK SCHWAB THE GAZETTE
ENGLEWOOD - The Denver Broncos acquired former Pro Bowl punter Todd Sauerbrun from the Panthers on Thursday, trading a seventh-round pick in next year’s draft and punter Jason Baker to Carolina.
The trade, which was agreed upon earlier this month, had stalled because Sauerbrun wanted about $1.8 million on the non-guaranteed base salary he was due over the final three years of his contract converted to a guaranteed signing bonus.
However, the Broncos finalized the trade without working out a new contract, a source said.
Sauerbrun could decide not to report to the Broncos until his contract is renegotiated. If he doesn’t back off his contract demands and decides to hold out, the Broncos would be thin at the position. Baker was their only punter with NFL experience.
After Sauerbrun, the top candidate on the roster to handle punts and kickoffs would be rookie seventh-round draft pick Paul Ernster, who punted only during his senior season at Division I-AA Northern Arizona.
Coach Mike Shanahan was unavailable for comment Thursday but is scheduled to talk to the media today. General manager Ted Sundquist did not return messages.
The Broncos might figure Sauerbrun will soften his contract demands now that they own his rights. Sauerbrun’s base salary is $1.2 million this season, $1.295 million in 2006 and $1.4 million in 2007.
Sauerbrun is a three-time Pro Bowl pick, and he led the NFL in punting in 2001 and 2002. Despite playing half of its games in the thin Colorado air, Denver hasn’t had a Pro Bowl punter since Mike Horan in 1988.
In Shanahan’s 10 seasons as Broncos coach, only once has a Bronco led the NFL in punting (Tom Rouen, 1999).
Sauerbrun has caused plenty of controversy off the field, which is a reason a punter with his talent was available for Baker — who struggled after he was signed by the Broncos late last season — and a seventh-round pick.
A CBS “60 Minutes Wednesday” report last March stated Sauerbrun and former Panthers teammates Jeff Mitchell and Todd Steussie had steroid prescriptions filled by a doctor in South Carolina. Last December, Sauerbrun was arrested and charged with driving while impaired, according to The Associated Press.
Sauerbrun also had a public feud with kickers Bill and Martin Gramatica through the media a few years ago.
Last season Sauerbrun refused to fill in for injured kicker John Kasay unless Carolina refunded some of the money it had fined him for being overweight, according to the Gaston (N.C.) Gazette.
“I want to put together four or five more Pro Bowls,” Sauerbrun told the paper. “If I do that, then I will say I’ve reached the top.”
CONTACT THE WRITER: 476-4891 or
fschwab@gazette.com
Sauerbrun becomes a Bronco
By FRANK SCHWAB THE GAZETTE
ENGLEWOOD - The Denver Broncos acquired former Pro Bowl punter Todd Sauerbrun from the Panthers on Thursday, trading a seventh-round pick in next year’s draft and punter Jason Baker to Carolina.
The trade, which was agreed upon earlier this month, had stalled because Sauerbrun wanted about $1.8 million on the non-guaranteed base salary he was due over the final three years of his contract converted to a guaranteed signing bonus.
However, the Broncos finalized the trade without working out a new contract, a source said.
Sauerbrun could decide not to report to the Broncos until his contract is renegotiated. If he doesn’t back off his contract demands and decides to hold out, the Broncos would be thin at the position. Baker was their only punter with NFL experience.
After Sauerbrun, the top candidate on the roster to handle punts and kickoffs would be rookie seventh-round draft pick Paul Ernster, who punted only during his senior season at Division I-AA Northern Arizona.
Coach Mike Shanahan was unavailable for comment Thursday but is scheduled to talk to the media today. General manager Ted Sundquist did not return messages.
The Broncos might figure Sauerbrun will soften his contract demands now that they own his rights. Sauerbrun’s base salary is $1.2 million this season, $1.295 million in 2006 and $1.4 million in 2007.
Sauerbrun is a three-time Pro Bowl pick, and he led the NFL in punting in 2001 and 2002. Despite playing half of its games in the thin Colorado air, Denver hasn’t had a Pro Bowl punter since Mike Horan in 1988.
In Shanahan’s 10 seasons as Broncos coach, only once has a Bronco led the NFL in punting (Tom Rouen, 1999).
Sauerbrun has caused plenty of controversy off the field, which is a reason a punter with his talent was available for Baker — who struggled after he was signed by the Broncos late last season — and a seventh-round pick.
A CBS “60 Minutes Wednesday” report last March stated Sauerbrun and former Panthers teammates Jeff Mitchell and Todd Steussie had steroid prescriptions filled by a doctor in South Carolina. Last December, Sauerbrun was arrested and charged with driving while impaired, according to The Associated Press.
Sauerbrun also had a public feud with kickers Bill and Martin Gramatica through the media a few years ago.
Last season Sauerbrun refused to fill in for injured kicker John Kasay unless Carolina refunded some of the money it had fined him for being overweight, according to the Gaston (N.C.) Gazette.
“I want to put together four or five more Pro Bowls,” Sauerbrun told the paper. “If I do that, then I will say I’ve reached the top.”
CONTACT THE WRITER: 476-4891 or
fschwab@gazette.com