Ryan Clady Wants to be Paid Like Joe Thomas and Jason Peters, Can’t Guarantee He Won’t Hold Out

Ryan Clady is one of the NFL’s best left tackles. According to Pro Football Focus, Clady gave up just a single sack in 2012. But the Denver Broncos’ star is still expected to hit the open market unless the team decides to place the franchise tag on him before March 4 because the two sides have yet to come to terms on a long-term contract. Ryan Clady joined CJ and Kreckman on ESPN 102.3 in Denver to discuss his contract situation, the franchise tag, his shoulder injury and recovery and how a tag would impact his relationship with the Broncos. He also talked about a potential holdout.

On his recovery from shoulder surgery:

“It’s coming along. I just gotta be patient with it and let it heal and try to get back to full strength.”

On how long he expects that to keep him out:

“The majority of the offseason I’ll just be rehabbing and whatnot and working out, so for the most part most of the offseason.”

On if he’d be ready to sign the one-year tender if the Broncos were to slap him with the franchise tag:

“Not right now, especially when I try to get something done later this summer, and if not, then eventually yes I will sign it. As of right now, no.”

On if he wants to be the highest-paid left tackle in the game:

“No, that’s not the deal I’m after. Just something comparable to Joe Thomas and Jason Peters. I feel like I’m in that category as far as tackles, so something along those lines.”

On if it’s unfair that the Broncos might consider his injured shoulder when negotiating his contract:

“A little bit, considering I played with it … to try to win ballgames for my team. But it’s part of the business, and I figure that’ll come up and I figure I’ll get tagged this offseason, so I just hope we can get something done by the end of the summer.”

On how bad the pain was for him:

“Initially in the Cleveland game it was somewhat painful. The pain sort of subsided the next couple weeks or whatnot, and I felt a lot better going into the Ravens game. But it is what it is and I had surgery three weeks ago and I’m just trying to get better.”

On if being tagged would impact his feelings about being a Bronco long-term:

“Yeah, somewhat. You wanna have that security going into a season and I feel like I’ve proven myself in this league and I’m deserving of a long-term deal.”