The Broncos turned to Shaun Phillips as a cheaper alternative, after losing Elvis Dumervil to a cheap fax machine.
But the veteran outside linebacker said he was fine with that, as he turned down more money to join a team he thinks has a chance to win a Super Bowl. He’ll make a non-guaranteed base salary of $1 million, with another $2 million available in incentives. But he thinks there’s a bigger payoff.
“That’s why I came here, to be in this situation, to be with a team that is right there in the mix,” Phillips said, via Jeff Legwold of the Denver Post. “I want a chance at the whole thing, and that means you’re with a team that believes it, and you’re with a team that will do the work.
“This team will put in the work. A lot of teams say they’re good, but the ones that really go after it, that’s what you want to be around, that’s what you want to be about.”
The expectations for the Broncos are high, and while Phillips is a productive player, he’s not a like-for-like replacement for Dumervil, so the defense might slip. But as long as quarterback Peyton Manning is there, and setting the agenda with his work ethic, players such as Phillips will continue to take less to take a shot.
