Denver Broncos picking up options on Derek Wolfe, Emmanuel Sanders

The Denver Broncos aren’t getting rid of their veterans just yet.

On Wednesday, Broncos general manager John Elway told the group of national reporters and writers that the team planned to exercise the options of Emmanuel Sanders and Derek Wolfe. Sanders tore his Achilles tendon in December during practice and it remains unclear if he’ll be around at the start of the regular season. As for Wolfe, the 29-year-old defensive lineman will return for another year in the orange and blue, hoping to finally stay healthy.

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Elway believes Sanders and Wolfe can help the Denver Broncos. The team struggled to a third place finish in the AFC West in 2018.

“They’re good football players,” Elway said. “That’s why we plan on exercising. (They are) different situations, but we are planning on exercising both of those.”

The decision to keep both was somewhat of a surprise. Sanders is turning 32 years old on St. Patrick’s Day, and the team already jettisoned receiver Demaryius Thomas at last season’s trade deadline to the Houston Texans. With Courtland Sutton about to become a star on the outside, it seemed Denver was well-positioned to move on from Sanders and perhaps draft another receiver in the middle rounds.

Instead, the hope is that Sanders and Sutton provide a nice duo for the newly-acquired Joe Flacco. While Flacco has ample limitations as a quarterback at this juncture of his career, he can still throw the deep ball. Sanders, if fully healed from his Achilles tear, is one of the top burners in the game even at his advanced age.

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As for Wolfe, he’s one of the better defensive ends in the game when right. With head coach Vic Fangio’s background as a defensive guru in the 3-4, Wolfe remains a nice scheme fit in front of edge rushers Von Miller and Bradley Chubb. However, Wolfe has dealt with a series of injuries — many pertaining to his head and neck — limited him to 11 games in 2017. However, Wolfe was able to play a full season last year for the first time since 2014.

With the Kansas City Chiefs clearly the class of the division, the Denver Broncos are trying to load up on talent by keeping veteran stars, trading for Flacco and spending some cash in free agency. It’s a bold move to keep charging at the Chiefs — and to some extent the Los Angeles Chargers — with a roster that has decay in some spots, but Elway believes enough is there to warrant the moves.