ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Peyton Manning can rest easy: his blindside protector isn't going anywhere. Denver Broncos boss John Elway is planning to put the franchise tag on his All-Pro left tackle Ryan Clady as early as Tuesday.

A franchise tag would mean a salary of a little less than $10 million for Clady in 2013, about three times what he earned last season, when he surrendered just one sack in more than 1,100 snaps.

Elway told the Denver Post on Friday that the Broncos still hope to work out a multi-year extension with Clady, who is recovering from a recent operation on his right shoulder that kept him out of the Pro Bowl.

Clady rejected a five-year, $50 million offer last summer that included $28 million in guarantees. He wanted something more in line with Cleveland's Joe Thomas, whose contract averages $11.5 million a season.

Clady made $3.5 million last year, the final season of the five-year deal he signed as a rookie out of Boise State in 2008. He has started every game in his career and earned three Pro Bowl berths.

Keeping Clady is among the team's top offseason priorities. Titus Young's priorities, meanwhile, have changed in a hurry. The wide receiver has been placed on waivers by the Rams after only a few days in St. Louis.

Coach Jeff Fisher said Friday the team picked up Young before it had much time to do any background checks. He concluded that Young was "not the best option" for the Rams.

"We saw Titus as an outstanding young player," Fisher said. "We spent time with him, we spent probably four or five days with him. We decided it was best for us to go in a different direction."

Young was banished three times by the Lions last year because of his behavior, including once for punching teammate Louis Delmas. He recently lashed out at the team on Twitter, posting "If y'all going to cut me let me go. I'm tired of the threats."

Still, the Rams felt Young, a second-round draft pick in 2010 out of Boise State, was worth a look.

Fisher said the decision to waive Young had nothing to do with the player's health.

"We claimed him so we could have his undivided attention," Fisher said. "We went through an extended interview process."