Denver Broncos: Five options at quarterback this offseason
By Andrew Wade
Veteran retread (Joe Flacco, Tyrod Taylor, Ryan Fitzpatrick)
Although these are more viable options than the two above, this is probably my least favorite route that the Denver Broncos could be heading and that’s essentially to do the exact same thing they did last year with Case Keenum. They would be spending money on quarterbacks that have low ceilings and small margins for error.
Starting with Joe Flacco, this guy is quickly on his way out in Baltimore with Lamar Jackson running the show. What’s surprising to me is how long Flacco stuck in the starter’s role to begin with. He essentially turned a fantastic 2013 postseason (remember, the one where he beat the Denver Broncos?), and an average 2014 season which saw him post his best QBR of his career (68.2) into a lifelong career with Baltimore.
Flacco isn’t very good and wouldn’t be worth the high cost of employment especially when we already have one below average veteran running the show.
Then there’s Tyrod Taylor, which very well could be something that piques John Elway’s interest. Denver wanted to bring Taylor in as a backup to Manning a ways back, and they also were in talks with Buffalo about trading for him. Neither plan worked and Taylor is about to be a free agent.
While Taylor’s talent warrants consideration here, it’s valuable to remember just how porous Cleveland’s offense was under Taylor vs Baker Mayfield. Bringing Taylor in would basically be a more talented, less effective game manager than Case Keenum.
Ryan Fitzpatrick would be an interesting choice because it was rumored Denver was interested in him as well. Despite his age (36), he showed this past season that he can still sling the ball around quite a bit. To be honest, it would be a little more exciting having Fitzpatrick at the helm than Case, but that would be moving in the wrong direction and signal that Denver is just waiting to pick their franchise guy in 2020.