The Denver Broncos are 6-8 as they prepare for the Oakland Raiders. Even though there are 2 games left in the season, Denver has been eliminated from playoff contention for the 3rd year in a row. They have not made the playoffs since winning Super Bowl 50. With that, many changes are coming in order for Denver to become a playoff team next year. There are reports Denver may trade for a quarterback.
The Broncos’ quarterback right now is Case Keenum. Keenum this season has thrown for 3,396 yards. His problem has been turnovers. He trusts his strong arm and tosses the football to where he thinks the receiver should be not where he is. Those are up for grabs and can lead to easy interceptions for the defense with total of 12 so far.
Keenum is under contract for 1 more year at $18 million. Denver knows they will have to think about the future beyond 2019. Since they are looking for a quarterback, 2 have been talked about for Denver to make a deal with, Joe Flacco and Jameis Winston.
Flacco might be the easiest. The BaltimoreRavens may cut him at the end of the year. He is due to make $18.5 million next year. There is an out in his contract after 2019.His cap hit would be $26.5 million but allowing him to go would result in a $16million in dead cap space for Baltimore in 2019.
The Ravens have gone with rookie Lamar Jackson for the past 5 games as the starter since Flacco is recovering from a hip injury. The Ravens are 4-1 in the games Jackson has started. He has a total of 818 passing yards with 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Jackson is showing the Ravens he is the future.
If the Ravens decide to let go of Flacco, Denver might be interested. He is a veteran in the NFL and next season would be his 12th in the league. In his career he is a Super Bowl winning quarterback and has a total of 38,245 yards and 212 touchdowns. He protects the football with 136 interceptions. This could help the Broncos’ offense but they will not pay him over $16 million because of Keenum’s contract.
The other option is Winston. He has been mentioned as a landing spot in a trade if the Broncos decided to make a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the offseason. Winston is in his 4th year and he is young at 24. Winston’s cap hit isn’t that high at $7,941,903 million.
Winston has shown he can play in this league. This season hasn’t been his best with 2,311 passing yards and 14 touchdowns with 13 interceptions. In his career, he has 13,947 yards and 83 touchdowns. He doesn’t take many chances throwing the ball into double coverage with 57 interceptions.
Denver will be looking for another quarterback next season to back up Keenum. Since Keenum will be in the last year of his contract, Denver must find the quarterback of the future. If they feel Flacco or Winston can be that, make an agreement with them. If not, try free agency or the draft. Denver will need to upgrade the position. priority4
We sure need something. It’s been a sad season so far