Denver Broncos can cross one prominent QB option off the list

Although the biggest dominoes have yet to fall, the Denver Broncos could be getting at least some clarity regarding their QB situation.

Everyone wants to know as soon as humanly possible — who is going to be the next quarterback of the Denver Broncos?

At this point, all we can really do is guess and speculate. That’s part of the fun, but even though we’re not even a week removed from Super Bowl LVI, the Denver Broncos’ QB search has been ongoing for six years.

Broncos Country has done plenty of waiting.

Even though we don’t know exactly what general manager George Paton has up his sleeve, there might be some options we can safely cross off the list. It appears as though one option, if only a longshot, has been taken off the table recently.

Kirk Cousins appears to no longer be a Denver Broncos option

The Minnesota Vikings hired Kevin O’Connell as their new head coach, and they have actually hired a number of former Denver Broncos assistant coaches to join him.

Although it could make plenty of sense for the Vikings to try and trade quarterback Kirk Cousins because it would save them $35 million in cap space, it doesn’t sound like the new coaching staff in town intends to do anything besides build around Cousins.

The Vikings also have a new general manager in Kwesi Adofo-Mensah who came over from the Cleveland Browns. He’s probably not overly interested in immediately entering quarterback purgatory as a GM, even considering the hefty $45 million cap hit from Cousins this season.

Every indication up to this point is that O’Connell and his staff are planning on building an offense around Cousins, and the report from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network confirms that.

O’Connell has experience working with Cousins in the past as their paths crossed in Washington once upon a time, and he’s seen firsthand what the offense he’s been part of can do for a quarterback with strong pieces around him.

The Vikings have a good enough roster, at least offensively, to be competitive in the NFC North and trading Cousins would effectively put the Vikings into a rebuilding stage.

Even though there’s a connection to George Paton, the potential of trading for Cousins has not ever really made a ton of sense from the Vikings’ perspective unless Cousins forced his way out.

From the Broncos’ perspective, Cousins would make plenty of sense. He’s a solid veteran quarterback who is obviously a lot better than what the team has had in the last six years. You’ll likely recall that many in Broncos Country spent the majority of the 2018 offseason hoping Cousins would choose Denver over Jacksonville, Minnesota, and other teams.

Ultimately, Cousins being off the board is not surprising and therefore it doesn’t move the needle a whole lot. It has felt very unlikely that he would be moved anyway, but the Vikings’ decision to hire Kevin O’Connell as head coach was likely the final nail in the proverbial coffin here.

3 non-Aaron Rodgers QB options the Denver Broncos could consider

The Denver Broncos may or may not get Aaron Rodgers in 2022, but what about some of these other options at the quarterback position?

Denver Broncos fans still have their sights set on Aaron Rodgers, and understandably so. Rodgers is the back-to-back MVP of the entire league, but as of right now, it doesn’t seem he’s made his decision about the 2022 season known to the Packers or anyone else yet.