Those Broncos fans who are hoping to get an answer anytime soon about what the Broncos are doing at quarterback should settle in for a long wait.
On a R.E.D. shirt Friday, Gil Whiteley of Mile High Sports AM 1340 welcomed Andrew Mason of DenverBroncos.com to help dispel some of the “misinformation,” as Whiteley called it, regarding the Broncos quarterback situation.
Whiteley cut right to the chase and asked Mason if Broncos general manager John Elway has misplayed his hand to this point. Some Broncos fans are getting anxious that as of April, the only option at quarterback is a guy who is 37-35 in his career with 86 touchdowns to 84 interceptions.
“It’s misplayed if you’re saying – okay – you have to have a starter today, on April 1,” Mason said. “In the long haul, I don’t think they’re misplaying it. I think you don’t want to pay too much for Colin Kaepernick because there have been diminishing returns with him over the last few years.”
But Mason sees no reason to rush into an expensive trade – both in terms of assets compromised and cash invested to acquire someone like Kaepernick.
“With this defense and, you presume, a better running game behind a better offensive line this year, is your best option not Mark Sanchez or maybe even a Josh McCown … and having one of those guys being a bridge to a guy you draft this year?”
Whiteley agrees that Kaepernick isn’t the answer, but he likes another mid- to lower-tier quarterback, Brian Hoyer.
Both Whiteley and Mason agree that the Broncos will be drafting a quarterback regardless of what happens in free agency. If a deal for Kaepernick does happen, Whiteley sees that happening in a late round. If Sanchez or even a Hoyer remains the primary option, he expects Elway will take a quarterback in the first three rounds.
Mason says “even with Kaepernick, if they did get him, it would depend on the structure of the contract. But I could still see them using a first or second day pick on a quarterback just to have another possibility in there. If it’s not Kapernick – if it’s Sanchez plus a Hoyer, or plus a McCown then definitely you’re thinking whoever you’ve got starting this year is a bridge to whoever you would draft.”
That bridge, however, Mason suggests, might be more than just a year.
“Elway does not want to push a young guy into the starting lineup too soon. That’s why even if they don’t get Kaepernick, I don’t think they’re done in terms of adding a veteran quarterback because whoever they would pick in this year’s draft – given that you’re looking at a steep learning curve, whether you’re talking about a Dak Prescott or a Paxton Lynch, those are guys who are going to have to learn to operate under center, for example. So they’re going to need some time.
“Elway’s said this repeatedly, that he feels like quarterbacks have been rushed along and they need to be able to take their time. If you add another veteran, you give the buffer to take your time with another quarterback.”
The Broncos thrived last year with sub-par quarterback play, but that’s an unlikely scenario to repeat, as Michael Jaycox examined on Friday as well.
Broncos fans hoping for a quick fix at the most important position on the field will likely be unhappy with how things play out over the next nine months, if what Mason’s saying is true.
Listen to the full discussion between Whiteley and Mason in the podcast below…
