It was when Broncos coach Sean Payton was asked last August about Zach Allen, one of the most spectacular free-agent success stories in Broncos history, that he shared his true sentiments about free agency.
He’d just concluded a vignette about Demario Davis, the former Saints linebacker who signed late in the 2018 free agency period and eventually became a team captain for eight seasons before re-joining the New York Jets this week.
“There was so much more that we couldn’t have expected, and you’re like, ‘Man,'” Payton said. “And then sometimes you sign someone and it’s like, ‘Ahhh,’ and –”
He paused for four seconds.
“I don’t want to use the parallel,” Payton said.
Then he did so, anyway.
“But my parents loved garage sale-ing. That was their deal, one thing they enjoyed together. And I think I had 10 couches growing up, right. And so they come home with a new couch and you’d remove the old one. And you were so excited — it was a sectional — until you sat in the left corner and it wiggled.
“And then you realized why it was a free agent.”
The “garage sale” of free agency commenced the last two days, and the Broncos’ primary moves were to pay up to keep some valuables from landing on the table out front. They were willing to part with John Franklin-Myers and P.J. Locke; the former may actually net a fourth-round pick in return, depending on the degree to which the Broncos eventually go shopping, and the latter sought a starting shot that wasn’t going to come for him with the Broncos in 2026.
But for now, when given the choice between used furniture items, the Broncos opted for the ones they knew. With Alex Singleton, Justin Strnad, J.K. Dobbins and Adam Trautman, Payton and George Paton know how to work around the imperfections.
Let’s take a trip to the Broncos’ house and see what they’ve got.
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BRONCOS LOOKED AT THEIR LIVING ROOM FIRST
You ring the two doorbell at 143 Broncos Parkway. The address changed in recent years; it’s a lot better than when the number out front was 512 a few years ago. Back then, the place was a dump. There was a guy who threw spaghetti on the walls. Then an older fella named Jerry came in for a couple of weeks to clean up the mess. He had a habit of giving long-winded soliloquies about the meaning of life, but he was a nice guy, meant well and he tidied the place up a bit. Got rid of some of the funkier aromas.
The tenant answers. He’s proud of the fixer-upper.
“This place has some good bones. A lot of stuff I was able to use and repurpose,” he tells you. The owner is fantastic, he says, providing a budget for furniture and everything, wanting this house to be the fanciest in the neighborhood. It’s almost there.
You’re welcomed into the living room. You scan the furniture.
See that Singleton easy chair? Oh, try not to notice that unsightly rip down the seam; there’s a lot around here that can repair it. The Surtain-Allen-Bonitto tool chest was pricey, but it has the goods to fix plenty. But when anyone in the place sits in the Singleton, they’ll tell you it’s the most comfortable seat in the house. “It was here when I arrived,” the tenant tells you. Left behind by the guy that wrecked the joint. Just needed a little love.
“So was that,” he says, pointing to the Strnad-model end table next to it. They got it out of storage a couple of years ago. They found out last year it pairs well juxtaposed with the Singleton. Didn’t cost a lot to maintain them, either — you’re told they can be spruced up for not even the price of the easy chair that the guy on Panther Drive bought.
Check out that Trautman-brand ottoman. See? The top comes off. It can be used for storage. It’s a footrest. In a pinch, it can be a coffee table, too. There were other options, maybe bigger, maybe with more storage space, maybe a bit higher on which to rest the feet, but kinda like the Singleton, it’s comfortable and familiar. Not going to take the chance on something else when you know what you’ve got right here. It’s not too old, either; he bought it new in 2020, brought it with him when he moved in three years ago and he says it should still have plenty of life left in it.
Then there’s the Dobbins sofa. It’s top of the line. You sink into the luxurious leather. But the years have shown that this one’s gonna wobble. A spring’s gonna bust if you land on it wrong. If the kiddos decide to compete in the pole vault in the Living Room Olympics, there could be trouble. To make this one work, they know they’ll have to go get some couch feet to prop up one or two corners. They may have to sand one of them down to get them to the right size.
Plenty of money went into the repairs and maintenance. But it’s still cheaper than hitting the garage sale. Shoot, did you hear what that big-time neighbor Andy spent on the sofa that he bought used? Over three times as much — at least!
Now, the tenant may have a contingency plan in case this fancy-but-fragile couch fails. Turns out that he was at the Ikea in Indianapolis checking out some new sofas a few weeks back. Boy howdy, did he and his people examine the merchandise. They might be able to procure another sofa in six weeks or so, but things have to break just right, and they’ll be shopping for some other household items. You can’t buy ’em all.
And you never know what might fall; they weren’t expecting a Barron-model television to still be on the shelves when they walked in 20 minutes after the store opened last April, but lo and behold, there it was. That changed the shopping list and even though they wanted a new credenza, they ended up not getting one until the shelves were picked clean. You could ALWAYS use another TV, right? As for the credenza, it came unassembled and without instructions. It’s out in the tool shed. It’ll require some weekends of work before it’s ready for the house, if ever.
If they pick up a new sofa in a few weeks, they’ll have to keep it in the basement where the kids bounce around on it in the rumpus room. No room for it upstairs; the Dobbins sofa and the Harvey coffee table take up the space. But hey, they could get another sofa at the garage sale and stick it down there, too; just wait a few days and you’ll find some on the cheap.
Because when they got the Dobbins nine months ago, they waited three months until the crowds had left the garage sale and the vendor just wanted to pack up and go home. Seventy percent off! Sold.
Thus, as your trip to the Broncos house concludes, your mind swimming with more details of home furnishings than you ever cared to know, the homeowner arrives for a regular check of his property to make sure his tenant is taking good care of the place.
Overhearing the mention of the Dobbins sofa, he can’t help but exclaim, “Did you SEE the great value we got on that last year?”