Why Ryan Clady belongs in the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame

Jul 19, 2023, 8:38 PM

Senior Broncos Writer

Is it possible to be forgotten even when you played in the last decade?

Because it seems as if that became the fate of left tackle Ryan Clady.

The end of his playing career was quiet, as far as his time as a Bronco went. His final on-field work in orange and blue came during a May 27, 2015 OTA practice, when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament. He walked off the field that day. But he never donned a Broncos helmet again.

Denver released him in the following offseason. He played one final season with the New York Jets, then came back to Centura Health Training Center the following summer to formally retire as a Bronco.

That concluded his career after nine seasons, eight as a Bronco.

But even though he lost one full season to an ACL rupture and 14 games of another to a Lisfranc injury, Clady maximized the time he had.

First, he was terrific from the jump. The Broncos’ 2008 first-round pick allowed no sacks as a rookie, per the data compiled by Pro Football Focus. None of the other 65 offensive tackles who played at least 500 snaps that year could make that claim.

By 2009, Clady was a Pro Bowler and a first-team All-Pro. Even after battling knee problems in 2010, he returned to the Pro Bowl three more times following the 2011, 2012 and 2014 seasons. His 2014 appearance came despite dealing with lingering discomfort from the Lisfranc injury a season earlier.

Clady is also one of just 13 Broncos in an exclusive club: at least two NFL Pro Bowl appearances and two first-team All-Pro selections.

The other 12 members:

Steve Atwater
Champ Bailey
Terrell Davis
Randy Gradishar
Peyton Manning
Karl Mecklenburg
Von Miller
Tom Nalen
Riley Odoms
Shannon Sharpe
Rick Upchurch
Louis Wright

Not even John Elway is in that collection. It’s Broncos royalty.

Miller isn’t yet eligible for the Ring of Fame, of course. He’s still playing for the Buffalo Bills. So that leaves 12 eligible players with at least two Pro Bowl selections and two first-team All-Pro nods in Broncos history.

Eleven are in. Clady is not.

Now, there is an argument against Clady, and it’s tied to team accomplishment. In his two campaigns wrecked by injuries, the Broncos advanced to the Super Bowl each time. So, the hypothesis goes, how necessary was his stellar play?

But here’s the thing: Such logic assumes a vacuum that doesn’t exist in the highly-interconnected world of the NFL. The Broncos lost Clady two games into 2013 … but gained a healthy Knowshon Moreno and Julius Thomas. And reserve Chris Clark — a better left tackle than right tackle, as time proved — ascended to a level he’d never before reached, peaking in a dominant performance against Kansas City that November. Furthermore, the exquisite performance from the defense in 2015 compensated for myriad offensive issues, injury-related and otherwise.

Even with the injuries, Clady reached a level of accomplishment no other offensive tackle in Broncos history has matched in orange and blue. Not even Gary Zimmerman can claim as many All-Pro selections and Pro Bowls. And with five seasons played, he had just one more healthy season than Clady.

Further, among all Broncos offensive linemen, only Tom Nalen has more league-wide honors as a Bronco than Clady.

Clady only became eligible last year. And with the backlog of older, deserving candidates, he likely must wait.

He’s been forgotten in some circles. But it’s time to remember his greatness. Clady belongs in the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame.