According to USA Today's Mike Garafolo, the Broncos have agreed to terms with guard Louis Vasquez, who spent his first four years with the Chargers.
Vasquez will reportedly get $23.5M over four years, with $13M of it fully guaranteed.
The move suggests a possible release of Chris Kuper, which we had discussed earlier in the day.
Kuper is due a $4.5M salary and $5.4M cap hit this season; releasing him would save a shade under $2.7M in cap space thanks to a dead-money hit of $2.745M.
Vasquez was a third-round pick out of Texas Tech in 2009, and has started 54 out of 64 possible games in his four years. In 1,057 snaps last season, he graded out at +12.8 (+8.6 pass, +1.5 screen, -2.0 run, +4.7 penalty) according to PFF, tied for the 13th-best mark among offensive guards league-wide.
Remarkably, the 325-pounder has only been called for one penalty in his entire career - it was a hold against Denver in the third game of his career, and it was declined (a hold on a third-down incompletion). (h/t Vic Lombardi, 104.3)
According to his agent, the contract with which Denver obtained Vasquez is very similar to what the soon-to-be 26-year-old had sought from the Chargers as recently as November.
FWIW, Andy Benoit is a fan of the move:
#Broncos great signing to get G Vasquez. Hurts division foe SD, helps run-blocking mobility.
— Andy Benoit (@Andy_Benoit) March 12, 2013
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Updated 6:31pm ET
