The Denver Broncos, up to this point, have passed on opportunities to add “competition” to the quarterback room with starter Drew Lock, even though that remains in general manager George Paton’s plans.
After the initial wave of free agency, the Broncos are left with no options in free agency currently that would legitimately be able to come into Denver and beat out Lock for his starter job.
Paton stated at a recent press conference that there are a variety of ways to add to the quarterback room between free agency, trades, and the draft. While the team’s moves over the last 10 days seem to indicate a high draft choice could be in the cards, the best way to add a veteran to the position right now would undoubtedly be via trade.
Who is actually available to trade for?
There have been rumors about Sam Darnold and Nick Foles, potentially, but one name that has already been confirmed to have been discussed via trade is Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew.
At this time, no one knows if the Broncos have been one of the teams to call on Minshew, but the Jaguars made a move on Wednesday that could push trading Minshew to the front of the priority list.
Jacksonville signed former 49ers quarterback CJ Beathard, and with Trevor Lawrence likely coming in as the top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, there is no longer room for Minshew. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network updated everyone on the situation surrounding the former sixth-round pick.
From NFL Now: The #Jaguars sign QB CJ Beathard, potentially increasing the possibility that they trade Gardner Minshew. pic.twitter.com/vY8DVG02lA
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 24, 2021
If Minshew is on the block — and this report seems to indicate that he is — the Denver Broncos should be the team bothering Jacksonville GM Trent Baalke the most about him.
Why?
The remaining two years of Minshew’s rookie contract are worth less than $2 million in total money. He has started 20 games and has completed nearly 63 percent of his 797 career pass attempts.
Although Minshew is not the prototypical quarterback when it comes to size or athletic ability, he has proven at the NFL level that he can play, and he impressed the Broncos in a tremendous individual effort back in the early portion of the 2019 season with a back-and-forth victory as Minshew Mania grew across the NFL landscape.
If the Broncos really want to bring in someone to compete with Drew Lock, is there anyone better than this guy?
Nick Foles would not be competition so much as he would be a “bridge” option to get to a new quarterback eventually, or a “break in case of emergency” option.
Sam Darnold, considering the cost to acquire him is likely a day two draft selection, would be your starter given that cost to acquire. No competition there.
Minshew does not have draft hierarchy over Drew Lock and their time on task is at least somewhat similar. To this point, it’s hard to argue against the fact that Minshew has probably played better than Lock.
At least in terms of taking care of the football, Minshew has been better with 11 interceptions on nearly 800 pass attempts compared to Lock’s 18 interceptions on 599 pass attempts. Both players have struggled with fumbles, however (Minshew 18 in two seasons, Lock with 11).
For the price to acquire both financially and in terms of draft compensation (likely a day three pick) Minshew is easily the best “veteran” option available right now and the Broncos should pursue him right away.