Lost amid the questions regarding why former Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler didn’t attend the White House visit and won’t attend the Super Bowl ring ceremony are questions regarding a Broncos player still is under contract with the team.
Defensive lineman Derek Wolfe skipped the trip to the White House on Monday, a development that largely went unnoticed.
“I just had a lot of stuff going on, things to do,” Wolfe said Wednesday, via 9news.com. Wolfe added that he wasn’t making a political statement by skipping the visit.
The next question is whether that same “stuff” will keep Wolfe from attending Sunday night’s ring ceremony at Mile High Stadium, and whether and to what extent any lingering displeasure with his current contract was a factor on Monday and/or will be a factor on Sunday night, if he doesn’t attend.
Last month, Wolfe said he didn’t regret signing a four-year, $36.75 million extension with the Broncos, even though former teammate Malik Jackson made a lot more on the open market. As one league source explained it to PFT, Wolfe did the deal during the 2015 season in order to ensure that the team would have cash and cap space to keep other key players -- and then Jackson, linebacker Danny Trevathan, and quarterback Brock Osweiler each left.
Although Osweiler’s decision not to go to the White House received far more attention, Wolfe’s decision to stay home on Monday (and possibly on Sunday) ultimately could be much more relevant to whatever unrest is percolating in the locker room over the team’s growing reputation for driving hard bargains when it comes to working out contracts.
