The Denver Broncos have found their starting quarterback for the foreseeable future in Drew Lock. There should be no controversy this offseason.
But the team has a few different directions it can go in terms of the team’s backup quarterback spot. Will the team look within for Lock’s backup or will it go outside the organization and find a different option than one currently on the roster? Here are three options.
Option 1: Joe Flacco
The first option to consider is going to be Flacco, the veteran the team traded for last March and hoped to get a couple seasons out of. Instead, they might have just gotten part of one season.
Whether Flacco could be the team’s backup next season rests on a couple of things. One, is his contract, the one the team chose to restructure. Secondly, would be whether he has an interest in staying in Denver or if the organization has an interest in him staying.
It’s hard to imagine there being much interest on either side and though there would be a lot of dead money for the team to eat if it cuts ties with him, that should be the direction things end up going.
Option 2: Brandon Allen
Allen is not a starting quarterback, but he could be a decent backup.
The best backups are guys who you rarely have to turn to but are capable of sticking around the organization for a long period of time so that if their number is called, they are 100 percent prepared to go into a game.
Allen could be that guy and you could even lump Brett Rypien into that conversation if he can step up and beat Allen out next summer.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have Lock and a reliable backup the same way the Broncos had John Elway and Gary Kubiak many years ago?
Kubiak was Elway’s backup for nine full seasons. In that time, he started a total of five games. But he was always prepared in those games and though he wasn’t Elway, he gave the team what it needed in his absence.
Option 3: Looking outside the organization
There are some decent free agent options available at the quarterback position this offseason, but guys like Teddy Bridgewater and Marcus Mariota are not going to come to Denver to back up a young guy like Lock unless they get huge money or no interest from other teams.
That isn’t likely.
That could leave the Broncos choosing from the likes of Colt McCoy, Chase Daniel and Mike Glennon, among others.
But one interesting option is Trevor Siemian, who could come to Denver for a reunion as the team’s No. 2 quarterback. Since being traded from the Broncos, Siemian has been a backup quarterback and that’s really what he should be, but he could be more than serviceable in that role.
Siemian is better than many fans are willing to give him credit for and the Broncos could do much worse in selecting a backup to Lock next season.
