Broncos 2021 offseason turned upside down after John Elway news
Broncos 2021 offseason turned upside down after John Elway news.
For the last 10 years, the Denver Broncos have been under the watchful eye of John Elway, the man who is most directly responsible for the team’s three Super Bowl championships.
When the Broncos were in a dire situation in 2010, the late Pat Bowlen called on his Hall of Fame quarterback to come and save the franchise once more.
Elway came to the Denver Broncos ahead of the 2011 season to lead the charge for a franchise that was coming off of its worst and frankly most embarrassing season in the Pat Bowlen era. Head coach Josh McDaniels was fired mid-season not only for the team’s poor performance but after reports surfaced that Denver was meddling in the same practice filming hijinks the New England Patriots had been punished for while McDaniels was there.
Elway came in, hired John Fox as the team’s new head coach and the Broncos won the AFC West in 2011 despite having just an 8-8 record. In 2012, Elway signed Peyton Manning as a free agent and the Broncos were dominant offensively for the next three seasons.
In 2015, the Broncos put arguably the greatest defense in NFL history on the field for their third Super Bowl title in franchise history.
The next five years were a combination of Elway trying to keep the Super Bowl team as intact as possible (2016-17) and then accepting the need to rebuild (2018-20).
The Broncos have not made the playoffs since that Super Bowl 50 season. Being a general manager in the NFL is incredibly hard work, and at the age of 60, John Elway is ready for the next chapter.
Elway will still be involved with the Broncos this next year as he’s technically been ‘promoted’ but he will no longer be the general manager of the team. The search has begun to find the Broncos’ replacement there.
“I’m proud of my career as a GM. It’s what I wanted to do. I appreciate Pat Bowlen & Joe Ellis for giving me the opportunity to be in that position. I loved it. It’s time for me to make that next step, and I’m excited about it.” - John Elway pic.twitter.com/U0eGOskNRL
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) January 5, 2021
As Elway stated in his press conference after this massive news dropped, he’s “retired” before. This wasn’t an official retirement but it sure felt like it.
Who knows what Elway’s future with the Broncos holds beyond this year? Perhaps he will pursue investing in being part of an ownership group, or maybe he will truly be out of football to enjoy retirement and family after this season.
One way or another, Elway’s decision to step aside as general manager and give control of the roster over to someone else could have a massive effect on the team’s immediate and long-term future.
I'm not saying Elway leaving GM post is bad news for Drew Lock. I am saying no one inside Broncos headquarters had more faith in Lock than Elway. We'll see how it shakes out but for every Bronco football employee, today's shake was seismic. #9sports
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) January 4, 2021
Elway and the Broncos have certainly shown faith in quarterback Drew Lock over the course of the last year. The Broncos didn’t bring in any real competition for Lock after a promising five-game finish to the 2019 season. They made two huge acquisitions on offense in free agency and spent three of their top four draft picks on that side of the ball.
They even drafted Lock’s college buddy Albert Okwuegbunam.
Whatever general manager comes to Denver will not be coming to a situation that is ugly, by any means. The Broncos have been drafting quite well since 2018 and that is a change of pace from what we saw between 2013-17.
The biggest question now with a new general manager coming in will be what happens with Lock.
A new general manager for most any team — not just the Broncos — typically means a new head coach and quarterback.
It doesn’t seem like Elway is going to hire a new GM whose first order of business is to fire Fangio, but could the new GM and Fangio work together to convince Elway that a fresh start at QB is needed?
The Broncos led the NFL in turnovers in 2020. Lock proved to be reckless with the ball at times and has been slower to learn than some of his peers, namely AFC West foes Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert.
That is an unfair curve to grade on, but it’s the Broncos’ reality at this point and there’s no escaping it.
The Broncos have to figure out how they’re going to compete for the next 10 years in the loaded AFC, but Vic Fangio also probably has to find a way to make the playoffs in 2021 or risk potentially being let go.
Will the Broncos bring in a general manager with prior experience on the job with another team? Will they bring in someone rising through the ranks? How is it possible there are so many top GM candidates out there right now who have worked recently with the Broncos?
The Broncos will cast a wide net for this general manager job. It will be interesting to see what prospective candidates thought from the outside looking in at Lock’s game and progression over the course of the season, and what his fit is with the future of the team.
Not every GM is going to come into a new situation and blow up the roster. The Broncos aren’t necessarily built to do that right now. Defensively? That might be another question entirely. The defense could get a substantial makeover in the 2021 offseason with some key veterans having options or hitting free agency.
The offense, however, looks like it has the potential to fly sooner rather than later.
Elway stepping aside as general manager means that, at the very least, the topic of quarterback is on the table for the Broncos this offseason, even if the new GM will still ultimately report to Elway.
Things are about to get wild in Broncos Country, even if the new GM ultimately decides to keep Lock and the majority of the offense in place (which is still possible if not likely). The alternatives realistically available to the Broncos in the 2021 NFL Draft may not be overly appealing, and the veteran quarterback market might be a bit too costly with the 2021 salary cap projected to go down by more than $20 million from over $198 million to $175 million.
This drop in salary cap will be borderline negligible for the Broncos who will be carrying over $20 million making their working salary cap in 2021 over $200 million, but it will still have an effect on whether or not the team could absorb a huge quarterback contract in, say, a trade.
Still, isn’t it interesting that Elway would step down from his GM post in an offseason where the supply could be greater than the demand at the quarterback position around the league? A number of big-name veterans around the league could be available, namely players like Dak Prescott, Carson Wentz, Matthew Stafford, Philip Rivers (who could also retire), Jimmy Garoppolo, Sam Darnold, and other veterans.
That doesn’t even include the 2021 NFL Draft class which could have four top 10 picks at the quarterback position.
There are going to be more starting quarterback options available in the 2021 offseason than will be starting for NFL teams on opening day of the 2021 season, in all likelihood. That’s what makes the Broncos’ situation fascinating.
Does a new GM coming in pass on the chance to acquire a veteran QB from another team with Lock’s inconsistencies? Would they want to give up their most valuable draft capital to do it?
There is never a dull moment in Broncos Country, is there?