Osweiler signs with Texans as players begin to move

Associated Press

Brock Osweiler left Denver. Doug Martin remained in Tampa.

Alex Mack left Cleveland and DeMarco Murray was traded to Tennessee. Mike Tolbert remained in Carolina.

In a flurry of shuffling and staying put, NFL free agency began Wednesday.

And the Super Bowl winner lost its second quarterback in less than a week, while the loser of the big game held on to two key performers.

With Peyton Manning retired, his supposed successor Brock Osweiler headed to Houston. Broncos defensive end Malik Jackson went to Jacksonville, and linebacker Danny Trevathan is now in Chicago. Denver clearly has been weakened.

At least Super Bowl MVP Von Miller has been franchise tagged and won’t be going anywhere.

“We’ve stayed true to our philosophy of building a team of players who want to be Denver Broncos and want to be here. That’s been a successful approach for us,” general manager John Elway said.

“While we did offer a very competitive and fair long-term contract to Brock, we ultimately had to remain disciplined while continuing to assemble a roster that can compete for championships.”

Osweiler appeared in eight games with seven starts last season for the Broncos. He started the last seven games of the regular season, but was benched in favor of Manning for the postseason.

But the 6-foot-7, 240-pound quarterback showed enough in that short stint after spending his first three pro seasons on the bench behind Manning that the Texans went all-in.

Carolina, which fell 24-10 to Denver in the Super Bowl, meanwhile retained All-Pro fullback Mike Tolbert and re-signed defensive end Charles Johnson to a lower salary Wednesday.

All-Pro running back Martin re-signed with the Buccaneers for five years. Center Mack chose Atlanta over Cleveland in other major moves.

Murray, the 2014 Offensive Player of the Year with Dallas, spent a fruitless season in Philadelphia and was traded Wednesday to the Titans. The teams swapped fourth-rounders, but the Eagles cleared Murray’s hefty contract from the books.

Johnson, cut last week, received a one-year contract worth $3 million to return to the NFC champions, according to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus. He said Johnson turned down an offer in excess of $6 million from another team.

Johnson, 29, would have cost the Panthers $15 million in 2016 under the cap before he was cut.

“My heart was in Carolina,” he said. “Once you put all that energy into it, I feel like I would have been wasting all that work had I gone somewhere else for some dollars. I’d rather be happy doing what I’m doing around people that I know, and I’m comfortable with. I can’t wait to get back to work.”

Johnson has played nine seasons with Carolina and his 631/2 sacks are second most in franchise history, behind Julius Peppers’ 81.

Tolbert also said he accepted fewer bucks to return to Carolina.

The top player at his position on the market, Martin will get more than $35 million, with $15 million guaranteed, from the Buccaneers. Martin, 27, has had two outstanding seasons with the Buccaneers and two injury-filled years. In 2015, he rushed for 1,402 yards, second in the NFL, and six touchdowns. His 4.87-yard average was the highest in team history.