Broncos sign Moreno

[FUSE]

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_13017408

Broncos finally agree on contract with Moreno
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
POSTED: 08/07/2009 05:28:12 PM MDT
UPDATED: 08/07/2009 06:17:43 PM MDT


First-round draft pick Knowshon Moreno, here at offseason minicamp, finally agreed on a contract with the Broncos. More photos of the running back. (Getty Images)
The Broncos have reached an agreement on a five-year contract with Knowshon Moreno. The deal ends the rookie tailback's 8-day holdout from training camp.

The deal is for five years and $23 million, with a guarantee of nearly $13 million.

"Definitely excited. Can't wait to get back," Moreno said from Athens, Ga., where he's been training at the University of Georgia.

"There wasn't much I could do except workout all week. I'm happy to be part of the Broncos now. And I'm going to get back there and work hard."

The No. 12 overall selection and first running back taken in the 2009 draft, Moreno is expected to participate in the team's first training camp workout Sunday afternoon. The team is off Saturday.

It's unclear whether the Broncos will deem Moreno ready to play in their first preseason game Friday at San Francisco, but eventually he is expected to be part of a tailback rotation that also includes veterans Correll Buckhalter and LaMont Jordan.

Moreno, 22, entered the draft after his sophomore season. He rushed for 2,734 yards on 5.6 yards per carry in his first two college seasons, and added another 645 yards receiving on 53 catches.

As a senior last season, Moreno was a finalist for the Doak Walker Award for the nation's best running back. He started all 13 games for the Bulldogs, leading the SEC and ranking 11th in the nation with 1,400 rushing yards on 250 carries (5.6 per carry).

The worth of Moreno's deal was about $3 million more than the No. 13 pick, defensive end Brian Orakpo, a former standout from the University of Texas who signed with Washington.

Significant progress had been made in contract negotiations between the Broncos and Moreno in recent days, while the team continued the first week of training camp under first-year head coach Josh McDaniels.

Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.

[JTRaines92]

He is going to be good for them, he runs as fast with pads as he does without them. They drafted a beast, and now he is signed!

[~Chance~]

Bout time..

[Yawkey Way]

He is going to be good for them, he runs as fast with pads as he does without them. They drafted a beast, and now he is signed!

cannot judge until one can see.

[SHOGUN]

My favorite running back in the draft. He's got a complete game.

[SHOGUN]

Denver produces monster running backs that nobody has ever heard of. They take guys in the 3rd round and have them rush for 1,000 yards. It will be interesting to see what they can do with a legit running back

I don't think that'll be the case anymore since McDaniels said he was going to move away from the ZBS.

[Sean]

bout damn time, now put him on the field

[Dan The Man]

New Jersey represent

[JeremyHight]

Ya, because Denver really needed help at RB over help on the defensive side of the ball. Denver will never get better until they fix the lack of defense.

[Flight24]

its about time. i'm looking forward to seeing how well he'll do in the nfl. i paid really close attention to him around draft time because i was hoping philly would be able to draft him. i'll take maclin/mccoy over moreno any day though.

[FUSE]

Ya, because Denver really needed help at RB over help on the defensive side of the ball. Denver will never get better until they fix the lack of defense.

They indirectly helped the D by taking Moreno. We had average backs before him since Portis left, now we have what hopefully will be a top tier back, which will results in longer drives, and now teams cant just play the pass the entire game like they did last year when it came down to practice squad rb's. They also upgrades safety and corner. We had utter trash at safety last year. Now we have Renaldo Hill and Brian Dawkins. Then we go Bailey, Andre Goodman, Alphonso Smith(who has been making plays all throughout camp) and then Ayers who we drafted to be one of our olb's Reports out of Camp have said that the D is shaping up much better than last season, and able to get pressure on the qb, which we rarely did last season. They are practicing blitzes more.

[FUSE]

DL: Ebenezer Ekuban, Mike Myers, Courtney Brown, Gerard Warren, Trevor Pryce
LBS: Ian Gold, Louis Green, DJ Williams, Al Wilson
Dbs: Champ Bailey, Darrent Williams, Dominque Foxworth, John Lynch, Karl Paymah, Nick Ferguson, Sam Brandon

[DoubleDeuce]

Moreno is going to be a bust. He got hurt so much in college, and sat out plays because he got hit hard. If he thinks the hits are hard in college, he'll get eaten alive in the NFL.