Broncos sign intriguing quarterback to the practice squad
The Denver Broncos made an intriguing move at the quarterback position, adding former Washington State QB Anthony Gordon.
The Denver Broncos are not taking any chances with the quarterback position over the final three weeks of the season.
With Teddy Bridgewater likely to miss at least one game with a concussion, the Broncos added former Washington State quarterback Anthony Gordon to the practice squad, a pretty intriguing move and hopefully a player the team will keep around beyond just this upcoming three game stint.
Anthony Gordon an intriguing addition to the Broncos practice squad
Coming out in the 2020 NFL Draft class, Anthony Gordon was an undrafted free agent who just got one season to play at Washington State after starting off his collegiate career at the JUCO level.
In 2015, he played one season at City College of San Francisco as a no-star recruit and threw for almost 4,000 yards with 37 touchdowns.
He transferred to Washington State and didn’t play until 2019 after serving as a backup to other QBs, including Gardner Minshew.
He took over for Minshew in the 2019 season and absolutely lit it up, throwing for 5,579 yards and 48 touchdowns, though he also had 16 interceptions.
After getting a shot at the Senior Bowl, Gordon showed off his impressive arm talent but scouts and executives were likely wary of the fact that he only played one season in a relatively pass-happy offensive attack and doesn’t have an ideal frame. Those things, combined with his 16 interceptions in 2019, led to Gordon being signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seattle Seahawks in 2020.
He then signed a reserve/futures contract with the Kansas City Chiefs this past offseason, and competed there through training camp and the preseason.
With his arm talent and ball placement skills, this is a really fun pickup for the Denver Broncos. Sure, he’s only a practice squad arm for the time being, but if the Broncos decide to keep him there through the end of the regular season and sign him to a reserve/futures deal in the offseason, it would give them three quarterbacks under contract for 2022 with Drew Lock, Brett Rypien, and Gordon.
Still just 24 years old, the best could yet be ahead for Gordon, who might get the chance to work with a new offensive staff in Denver depending on what the team does at the end of the season with offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur.
For now, the safe assumption is that Gordon is available as just a COVID replacement in the event the Denver Broncos need that.
However, you just never know and it’s always worth taking a closer look at a player at the quarterback position.
The last time the Broncos made a practice squad move at QB, they signed former Patriots seventh-round pick Danny Etling, but they let him go shortly after signing him.
We’ll see if Gordon is a one-week move with Teddy Bridgewater in recovery, or if the Broncos are really buying some 2022 stock in him as a backup option.