Broncos offseason: Warming up to the RG3 idea
Broncos offseason: Why am I all of a sudden warming up to the idea of Robert Griffin III as the Denver Broncos quarterback?
The Denver Broncos are shopping for a quarterback this leap year, and as obvious as it would seem to re-sign Brock Osweiler, money talks.
And it’s incredibly loud at this time of year.
With the obscene amount of money in the hands of some of the league’s worst teams, Brock Osweiler could make in excess of $15 million, some estimating as high as $20 million annually. Any such contract offered by the Broncos would make me absolutely sick, so just how desperate are the Broncos to keep Osweiler around?
Not that desperate.
I am all of a sudden warming up to the idea of the Broncos finding a way to acquire Robert Griffin III, who was a stud in his rookie season with Mike Shanahan before a number of injuries and issues got him a first-class ticket to the bench all season long this past year in Washington.
That was an expensive $10 million investment for the Redskins this past year, but they had to keep leverage while they still had it. Griffin likely used this past year to refocus himself, to get healthy, and most of all to evaluate the next step of his NFL career.
Will Denver be his destination?
I’ve convinced myself that I would at least be excited by the option, for a number of reasons. I asked myself these questions:
1. What gives the Broncos the best shot at a dynasty — Brock Osweiler or the defense?
Hmm. When you put it that way…
If the Broncos have to decide between keeping the defense in-tact (Malik Jackson, Danny Trevathan) vs. just keeping Brock Osweiler, I would take the defense 100 times out of 100. The Broncos proved this year that defense wins championships quite literally.
I’m not suggesting you trot out the worst QB in the league and assemble the best defense you can, and hope things work. However, Peyton Manning led the NFL in interceptions and Osweiler came in and played pretty well for the Broncos to secure the top overall seed in the AFC and a Super Bowl victory.
How much did the QB position have to do with the title? The minimum it had to, if we’re being honest.
The Broncos won all year despite QB play, and that’s being kind.
If you’re giving me the option of keeping this defense together or moving forward with Brock as the QB, it’s an easy answer for me.
2. Brock Osweiler at $15M or Robert Griffin III at $5-8M
I don’t know the market value of RG3 right now, but it’s nowhere near what Osweiler’s is. I don’t even know if it’s as high as $5-8 million per season.
He just spent a year on the bench after two seasons of sub-par play, and yet, four years into their respective careers in the NFL, why do I still feel like it’s RG3 who has better long-term potential? Obviously being the 2nd overall pick in the draft and a Heisman Trophy winner, RG3 was at one point the superior prospect, but knowing what we know now, it’s risky at best to think he’s a smarter option than Brock at this time.
But Osweiler has limitations as a player, too. We’ve seen six games of work from him, and we’re talking about committing $12 million or more per season for his services based on that?
That’s tough for me to justify.
If you could have RG3 theoretically for $10 million cheaper per season than Osweiler, wouldn’t you do that? I know I would.
Bottom Line
This defense can win with Brock Osweiler at QB. This defense can win with RG3 at QB. With Peyton Manning’s $21 million cap figure coming off the books one way or another and more money opening up from other cuts, restructures, and the salary cap increase of roughly $12 million, the Broncos will have room to work with around the salary cap.
If they were to sign a player like RG3 and draft someone in the first three rounds, I would be able to sleep at night knowing Brock Osweiler was slinging passes for the Cleveland Browns at $17 million per season.
Ridiculous to even think about…
I hope Osweiler is able to come to reasonable terms with the Broncos, but it seems like he’d be turning down almost $7 million per season to do so. Is that something you would expect him to do?
It might be his only big contract as an NFL player, and he deserves the shot to pursue it. But the Broncos shouldn’t shell out that kind of cash. I’d be good with RG3 at a discounted price, and I think he could flourish in this offense.