Tamme will once again catch balls from Peyton. (Getty Images) |
The Broncos went a long way in shoring up weapons for Peyton Manning on Friday, signing former Colts tight end Jacob Tamme as well as former Texans tight end Joel Dressen.
Tamme signed a three-year, $9 million deal on Friday afternoon, becoming the first former (and only?) Colts player to join Manning on the Broncos. Despite a belief that Peyton would bring along an entourage at his next stop, that has yet to be the case.
Dallas Clark may be the tight end from Indy that people know, but don't let Tamme fly too far under the radar -- there's a reason we ranked him and not Clark on our Top-100 free agent list.Excited to announce I'll be joining the Denver Broncos & I look forward to getting to work.
— Jacob Tamme (@JacobTamme) March 23, 2012
In 2010, Tamme started eight games with Clark injured and caught 67 passes for 631 yards and four touchdowns. If he can replicate similar production as a slot tight end with the Broncos, Denver will be pleased with their low-risk investment.
Dressen is another sleeper signing -- his deal is also for three years and worth $8.5 million -- based on his previous work filling in for an injured "starter." In the past three years, Daniels had 32 games started and averaged 397 yards receiving.
In short, while the Broncos didn't set the world on fire with this pair of signings, they did just significantly improve their offense, get Manning a pair of versatile weapons, and do well for themselves in a free-agent market that's pretty thin.