A.J. Bouye will have a new home when the league year opens on March 18 after the Jacksonville Jaguarsagreed to trade the veteran cornerback to Denver on Tuesday.
Bouye told Mike Klis of 9News Denver several teams were interested in acquiring him, but he liked what he saw in the Broncos down the stretch last season and is looking forward to playing in Vic Fangio's system.
The veteran corner said he talked to Broncos GM John Elway after the trade agreement went through.
"After everything becomes official he said he's excited for me to come,'' Bouye told Klis. "And I talked to Vic. (Agent) Fred (Lyles) gave me some possibilities about certain teams and I started watching film of Denver's scheme. I watched Vic when he was DC with the Bears. So, I'm excited, man."
Bouye's play fell off last season, as did the entire Jacksonville defense. The Broncos are buying low with a 28-year-old cornerback who fits perfectly into Fangio's system with his ability to play across the formation and is one of the better run-defending corners. It's the type of move that savvy teams make. If Bouye returns to form in the final year of his contract, it's well worth it for Denver to give up its extra fourth-round pick.
"The first thing that came to mind, I was definitely paying attention to Drew and his quarterback play,'' Bouye said. "I saw how they played certain teams out of the division, like Houston. And I just like this scheme. I think it's a good opportunity for DBs to make plays. And how they finished the season strong, I was paying attention to all that.''
The Broncos played better than their record indicated last season, but they were terrible in close games, with five of their nine losses coming in one-score tilts. Lock's emergence down the stretch also helped Fangio's squad close winning four of the final five games, setting up an offseason of optimism in Denver.
The Bouye trade likely means the end of Chris Harris' run in Denver. Harris and Bouye are interestingly repped by the same agent. Elway adding the ex-Jags corner does not completely pull the Broncos from re-signing Harris -- the Broncos have $70 million in cap space -- but signals the market for the veteran's service should be deep when the new league year opens on March 18, and likely too rich for Elway to match.
