Elway Lays Down the Law as Potential Trades Could Flow

John Elway had to flex his might in the Sanders trade but what message did that send to the Broncos' locker room?

In the top-level football world of the NFL, much like politics, the game's alpha males thrive on asserting their hard-fought power and authority. In league circles, the top executives frequently puff their chests when dominance needs to be displayed and respected by those below them.

Recent developments at Dove Valley gave Denver Broncos fans a perfect example of such brinkmanship for all to see. Widely forecast moves within the trade market by GM John Elway to gain future draft collateral lifted off with the trade of Emmanuel Sanders on Tuesday. 

What is now emerging is that Sanders' trade to the San Francisco 49ers comes equipped with a conflicting back story.

Elway decided to make public his assertion that it was his veteran receiver who had requested a trade in order to exit the Mile High City. With Sanders' recent calling out of offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello’s systems and a disputed knee injury, the resulting toxic and damaging internal issues have bubbled to the surface.

"When we looked at it, Emmanuel had issues and we had issues," Elway said Tuesday following the trade. "That is why it was a good time for us to go different directions, for Emmanuel to go in a different direction and for us to go in a different direction. With that being said, we were able to get the value that we thought was fair. That is why we decided to make the deal.”

Sanders himself has only been available to give his own version of events in a brief impromptu soundbite on his way out of Dove Valley, so the coming days could well see him expanding his take on how events coalesced in his final days in Denver. What is now guaranteed is that the popular former Bronco is leaving under a cloud and he will be left with a distinctly sour taste in his mouth.

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While Elway continues to flex his muscles in the front office, the fans remain disillusioned and angry as the Broncos have slumped to 2-5 in the standings and yet more core members of the roster could be shipped out. 

Will anyone else be traded? 

“Possibly," Elway said. "I don’t know yet. We’ll see how it goes.”

These strained conditions have seen Elway come out fighting and asserting his authority over the players he deems as not playing by his rules. Difficulties do lie within this stance, however, as the modern-day NFL has changed to the extent that operating a dictatorship-style set-up is rapidly becoming passé. Increased pressure on Elway has recently brought into sharp focus whether or not his methods are becoming archaic and irrelevant.

Magnifying this has been the glut of new and exciting mobile, dual-threat passers who have lit up the league and entertained fans. On the flip-side, Denver fans have suffered through a stagnant offense that has so far been hamstrung by the GM’s acquisition of Joe Flacco as the starting QB.

Flacco has failed to provide any tangible thrills or consistency and has become a sitting duck behind the porous offensive line, with his lack of mobility and release speed being cruelly exposed. Much of the root of Sanders' displeasure stemmed from how poor QB play had derailed the Scangarello offense he was playing within and subsequently cemented his trade to San Francisco.

Elway still appears determined to follow his own tried and trusted methods he has long employed whilst running the Broncos and it will no doubt factor heavily in the futures of other Orange and Blue stars who boast significant trade values.

Two such candidates to be moved are defensive stalwarts Derek Wolfe and Chris Harris, Jr., both of whom have perhaps shrewdly chosen to vocally express a no-quit attitude in their roles as team leaders. With their boss wielding the ax, perhaps towing the line will be enough to keep them around past the trade deadline. 

As the rest of the league position themselves to make further moves, watch this space.

Follow Keith on Twitter @KeithC_NFL and @MileHighHuddle.