Denver Broncos: The time to blow things up is coming fast

The Denver Broncos are a hopeless 0-4 after a home loss to a rookie quarterback. The time to blow things up is coming quickly.

This won’t be the first time someone has suggested the Denver Broncos blow things up and it certainly won’t be the last.

The question is whether or not John Elway is going to be willing to do it when the time comes.

That time is coming up very soon, especially after Elway’s Broncos just lost at home to a rookie quarterback on a last-second field goal after holding a 17-3 lead in the second quarter of the game. The exciting start to the game which featured touchdowns to Noah Fant and Courtland Sutton was quickly destroyed by Jacksonville’s running game and some Gardner Minshew magic.

The Jaguars won 26-24, and the Broncos now have to consider the reality of their situation.

They are one of the worst teams in the league, and what’s really embarrassing about it is — unlike most of the teams without a win this year, the Broncos are truly out there trying, and losing with a bunch of veteran players who have won a lot of games in this league versus a bunch of young players trying to find their way.

It’s not like the Dolphins, who are very clearly tanking. It’s not like the Redskins, whose front office and coaching staff have clearly already agreed to part ways at some point this year or right after the season.

The Broncos have lost eight straight games, a streak which now spans two different coaching staffs, two veteran quarterbacks whose only job was to go out there and ‘not lose’ games while the defense did what it supposedly does.

Only the defense has joined in the stinkfest now, too.

The Broncos’ defense gave up over 200 yards rushing to the Jaguars on Sunday and simply couldn’t get off the field in the second half of the game.

But it’s more than just this particular game, too. The Broncos have stunk for three straight years.

The time to make substantial changes is perhaps not right now, but it is likely sooner rather than later.

There are a couple of key dates upcoming for the Broncos.

Monday, October 14

After the team’s week six matchup with the Tennessee Titans, rookie quarterback Drew Lock can begin practicing with the team again. The Broncos need to start preparing the way for Lock to take the reins if they have not won four or five straight games by the time he’s officially eligible to return.

Tuesday, October 29

This is the date of the 2019 NFL trade deadline. The Broncos, at this point, have to be sellers.

They have a number of veteran players on expiring contracts that will be desirable to contending teams.

The biggest names I think could be on the block for the Broncos are cornerback Chris Harris Jr. and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.

No, Von Miller isn’t getting traded.

The Broncos need to turn things around quickly, however, so it makes no sense for them to keep Sanders and Harris for the rest of this season if they’re not making the playoffs, because if they go to free agency, the Broncos would have to worry about whether or not they’d be getting a compensatory pick in 2021, and that’s not helping anyone.

They need assets now, and Harris/Sanders can bring in the biggest return. All of us would hate to see those guys go, but these are the devastating realities of losing eight straight games and losing four in a row to start 2019.

Ultimately, there’s no guarantee any of this happens, but it seems like the right thing to do considering where the Broncos are headed. They have an insanely tough schedule ahead. Joe Flacco is not currently doing enough to win them games, and neither is the defense behind him.

The Broncos are an unfortunate mess and they need to recoup assets as soon as possible.

Vic Fangio didn’t necessarily sign up for a rebuild in his first head coaching gig in the NFL, but he’s got one.