NFL notes: Broncos plan to draft a quarterback

The choice for the San Francisco 49ers might come down to paying Colin Kaepernick $11.9 million to wear their uniform in 2016 or $4.9 million to wear Denver’s.

Kaepernick wants out of Northern California. His only suitor so far is Denver, which lost Peyton Manning to retirement and Brock Osweiler to free agency a month after winning Super Bowl 50.

Kaepernick, who lost his starting job to Blaine Gabbert last season, met with Broncos GM John Elway at his Denver home last month. But trade talks stalled when Kaepernick balked at taking a pay cut in 2017 and the 49ers declined to pay a portion of his fully guaranteed salary for the upcoming season to facilitate a deal.

While the stalemate drags on, the Broncos are preparing to select a quarterback in the upcoming draft, coach Gary Kubiak said Thursday.

Kubiak said he’s focused on the quarterbacks on his roster, newly acquired Mark Sanchez and 2015 seventh-round selection Trevor Siemian, while Elway and his staff study the top college passers.

“Obviously we’ve got some work to do. We’ve got to add to our group. We understand that,” Kubiak said.

Asked if he felt a pressing need to add a veteran quarterback to the mix, Kubiak said, “I feel good about the two guys that we have. We’ll see what happens. You know, you continue to move forward and try to get better, but I’m going to stay focused on Mark and Trevor right now and do everything I can to get ready for this draft right now, which is extremely important.”

The Broncos have the 31st pick because New England lost its first-rounder in the “Deflategate” saga.

The Broncos acquired Sanchez from the Philadelphia Eagles for a conditional 2017 draft pick. He’s been working out in California with Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders and has insisted he intends to win the starting job no matter who else the Broncos bring in.

“Mark has a lot of background in our system,” Kubiak said. “So I think we’ll make up ground very quickly.”

Marshall feared for his life

New York Jets receiver Brandon Marshall told a jury Thursday that he feared for his life while fleeing a Manhattan nightclub after fights broke out four years ago.

An emotional Marshall testified in federal court, denying at the civil trial that he punched a woman who later sued him for unspecified damages.

He said he saw men chasing him and his longtime friend, former NFL receiver Michael Anthony Sims-Walker, outside the Marquee nightclub and thought “no way we’ll survive this.”

“If you fall, you’re dead,” he recalled thinking as he worried that others might have weapons. “I was pretty hysterical.”

Marshall said he tried to flee the unruly crowd seconds after he cried while waiting with his wife outside the club after a thrown bottle cut her mouth and knocked some of her teeth out. As he testified about what happened, he dabbed his eyes with a tissue and got choked up.

“The cut was the really scary part,” he said. “I never heard her cry like that.”

Texans re-sign Demps

The Houston Texans have re-signed free-agent safety Quintin Demps.

He was third on the team with 61 tackles last season in his return to the Texans. He defended six passes, forced a fumble and recovered a career-high two fumbles in 14 games with 13 starts.

It was his second stint with the team after he played for Houston from 2010-12. He has also played for Philadelphia, Kansas City and the New York Giants in a nine-year career.