Ryan Clady is an unrestricted free agent who isn’t going anywhere.

The Broncos’ All Pro left tackle will return to protect Peyton Manning’s blind side.

“We’re going to tag him,” said John Elway, the Broncos’ executive vice president of football operations.

Elway added that placing a franchise tag on Clady, a procedure that will happen as soon as Tuesday, does not preclude the team and player from working out a multiyear contract extension.

“We’d like to work something out, like we did last year,” Elway said, referring to contract negotiations with Clady that broke off before training camp. “Things have changed a little bit because he’s coming off a shoulder surgery. But we like Ryan. We like him a lot as a player and we’d like to get something done.”

Elway had just taken a break from “The Cave,” as he calls it, the coaches’ conference room where he and his scouts, personnel assistants and John Fox’s coaching staff had spent the first six hours of Thursday going over draft-eligible safeties.

These next 10 weeks are the busiest and most important time of year for Elway as he oversees roster changes for the 2013 Broncos.

First on the NFL calendar is the franchise tag period that begins Tuesday and runs through March 4. This is where Clady comes in.

The Broncos’ first-round draft pick, No. 12 overall, in 2008, Clady has been a three-time Pro Bowler, and two-time All Pro in his five seasons. He has never missed a game despite major knee surgery before the 2010 season and a rotator cuff injury in his right shoulder near the end of the 2012 season that recently required surgery.

Teams are allowed to place a franchise tag on one of their unrestricted free agent players each year. This gives the player a top five average salary for one season, but pretty much restricts him from entering the free-agent pool.

Clady’s projected salary under the tag would be $9.66 million in 2013, a nice raise from the $3.5 million he made this past season.

All players want a bit more security than a one-year contract, though, and the Broncos want Clady around long-term. Last year, the Broncos placed their franchise tag on kicker Matt Prater and the two sides eventually worked out a four-year contract extension in June.

While securing Clady is at the forefront of the Broncos’ offseason, their plan goes much deeper. More than 330 of the top draft-eligible players will gather in Indianapolis for the NFL scouting combine that begins Wednesday and runs through Feb. 26.

From scouting the kids, Elway and company must quickly switch their thoughts to free-agent veterans who did not receive the “tag.” Teams can start negotiating with agents of free-agent players from March 9-11 with the official free-agent period opening at 2 p.m. MST March 12.

The draft doesn’t run until April 25-27 and the Broncos aren’t scheduled to select until the No. 28 pick in the first round, No. 58 in the second round. While this would suggest the Broncos primary pool from which to fill their 2013 roster needs is free agency, Elway is far from considering the draft as an afterthought.

“I’ll tell you what, the draft this year is not top heavy, so we feel like we can get as good a player at No. 28 as we could at 10,” Elway said. “It’s not like last year with (Andrew) Luck and RG III. The year before with Von (Miller) and (Marcell) Dareus and A.J. Green and Patrick Peterson — loaded top end. This is probably a deeper draft, but not nearly as many top impact guys. That first pick, it can shift six different times before we get to the draft.”

The Broncos finished the 2012 season with a 13-3 record and No. 1 AFC playoff seed so they are not in need of an overhaul. But tweaking is necessary as several key players are becoming free agents and the Broncos fell three playoff victories short of winning the Super Bowl.

Besides Clady, the Broncos also are hoping to re-sign backup safety and top special teams player David Bruton before he enters free agency. Positions the Broncos will be looking to strengthen this offseason are cornerback, defensive tackle, interior offensive line, running back and receiver.

Mike Klis: 303-954-1055, mklis@denverpost.com or twitter.com/mikeklis