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Denver Broncos match Miami's offer to RB C.J. Anderson

By The Sports Xchange
Carolina Panthers Kony Ealy (L) goes helmet to helmet with Denver Broncos C.J. Anderson (22) after a short gain in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 50 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, February 7, 2016. The Denver Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers 24-10. Photo by Khaled Sayed/UPI
1 of 3 | Carolina Panthers Kony Ealy (L) goes helmet to helmet with Denver Broncos C.J. Anderson (22) after a short gain in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 50 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, February 7, 2016. The Denver Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers 24-10. Photo by Khaled Sayed/UPI | License Photo

Running back C.J. Anderson will be back with the Denver Broncos after the team matched a four-year, $18 million offer from the Miami Dolphins.

Anderson had offers from the Chicago Bears and Dolphins and as a restricted free agent, the Broncos retained refusal rights to match any offer Anderson accepted.

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Denver officially matched the money on the table from Miami on Tuesday.

"We want to continue to get better in the offensive side and he's going to be a guy who's going to lead that when it comes to the running game," Broncos executive vice president of football operations and general manager John Elway said. "We have high expectations for him. We think he has the ability to do that, so we're glad he's back."

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Anderson was the second-leading rusher to Ronnie Hillman with the Broncos last season. But Anderson was used as the fourth-quarter closer by Denver, running effectively between the tackles and in short-yardage situations.

Hillman is a free agent.

"Ronnie is obviously testing the market," Elway said. "Again, that's a fluid situation. Things are starting to calm down a little bit with where we are in free agency. Obviously. we're always concerned with where we are as far as the numbers if you understand the compensatory picks situation of where we are there, too.

"We're continuing to study everybody out there. As opportunities or different players that we believe that can help us come about, then we'll go that direction."

Anderson had been tendered at $1.671 million by the Broncos.

"We're glad we got him tied up for four years," Elway said. "We found out what his market value was. Obviously, he'd been with (Dolphins head coach Adam) Gase here, and so Gase had an interest in him. Miami as well as Chicago showed interest.

"Overall, when we look at the package, we think it's a very fair package for what he's going to do."

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Undrafted out of Cal, Anderson earned a nod to the Pro Bowl as an injury replacement in 2014 when he gained 849 yards and eight touchdowns, mostly in the second half of that season. Because of injuries, he fell behind Hillman in 2015, but averaged 4.7 yards per carry and totaled 720 rushing yards.

"I think that anybody -- any time that they step up when they come off a rookie contract like he is and they step up, they're getting paid the money and C.J.'s contract, what he's getting paid in his contract, the expectations always go up," Elway said. "That's what I told C.J. 'You know what? The expectations of you as a leader as well as somebody that is a part of this organization -- all those expectations go up.' With the rise in pay also goes the rise in expectations, and I think C.J. understands that and he's ready to handle that."

The big question mark in the Broncos' backfield is at quarterback. With Peyton Manning retired and Brock Osweiler off to the Houston Texans, the Broncos brought in veteran Mark Sanchez to compete for the vacancy.

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"I think we're excited about having Mark," Elway said. "His track record and what he's done, I think that he's very capable. He's the first step in the process. With Brock, we went through that process and ultimately it came down to what Brock wanted to do and he made that decision of what he thought was best for him, which was Houston. We respect that and we'll move on and continue to put the best team we can together."

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