At the owners meetings in Florida Denver coach Mike Shanahan was asked about the team’s interest in trading for Jets defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson, a deal that has been lingering on Death Row for several weeks.
“He’s a guy that if you do take, there’s going to be some question marks because if you take a look at his knees, he hasn’t passed a physical,” Shanahan said. “But he’s still played 80 percent of his games. So how big of a risk are you going to take?’’
In other words, how big of a price are the Broncos willing to pay?
According to NFL sources, talks between the Jets and Broncos on a deal for Robertson are not dead but "on hold" and will likely be revived as the draft gets closer. The Broncos and Hadley Engelhard, Robertson's agent, have been hammering out a contract in the event the trade is completed and reportedly have the parameters in place.
The hang-up seems to be compensation for the Jets. They want as many as two mid-round draft picks while the Broncos are trying to give up only one pick, a low-rounder at that. Neither team is budging right now, but there's plenty of middle ground to reach as draft day looms.