Day 1 of NFL Free agency kicked off on Monday, and Kirk Cousins signing with the Atlanta Falcons was the biggest splash.

For the Broncos, it was a quieter day, considering their lack of salary cap space due to moving on from Russell Wilson. Denver was able to make a few moves on the first day of free agency, namely signing safety Brandon Jones to a 3-year deal.

They also re-signed kicker Wil Lutz, and restructured the contracts of Ben Powers and Zach Allen. But overall, the Broncos were quieter than other teams.

And when it comes to the all-important quarterback position, Cousins’ deal with Atlanta affects the Broncos in three ways.

Cousins won’t be coming to Denver, neither will Sam Darnold

Multiple media outlets pointed to Cousins as an option to replace Wilson with the Broncos in Denver. That wasn’t really very likely, as it seemed Minnesota or Atlanta were the landing spots for the veteran QB.

Cousins enjoyed a resurgence with the Vikings before tearing his Achilles tendon last year. He’s rehabbed like crazy since, and he’s ready to go for the Falcons when the season kicks off in September.

With Cousins heading to “The A,” multiple dominoes fell along with him. And they both affect the Broncos, too.

Sam Darnold was rumored to be coming to Denver, specifically by Ben Allbright, who was right about many other QB signings on Day 1. As soon as Cousins was gone, the Vikings jumped into the Darnold sweepstakes, and the Broncos were in it as well.

But ultimately, Darnold signed with the Vikings yesterday.

Darnold is now currently in line to start for the Vikings. But for how long?

While the Broncos are set to select at No. 12 overall, Minnesota has the No. 11 pick. And they’ve been eyeing a quarterback to replace Cousins, even if the longtime veteran was going to be part of the 2024 team.

Now that he’s gone, it seems even more likely the Vikings will use their first-round pick to take a QB.

As a quick refresher of the incoming quarterback class, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels are all expected to go 1, 2, 3 at the position, and they may even go 1, 2, 3 in the draft.

Though this is a quarterback-heavy draft class, that leaves the “second tier” QBs like J.J. McCarthy, Bo Nix, and Michael Penix. And rumor has it, the Vikings are focused on McCarthy as their next gun slinger.

However, the reigning national champion McCarthy is also a quarterback Broncos head coach Sean Payton is said to be “enamored” with.

If Denver was targeting McCarthy, they may have seen those hopes evaporate when Cousins signed to Atlanta. Although, even if Minnesota re-signed Cousins, there was always a possibility they’d draft McCarthy, too.

Where does this leave the Broncos in terms of QB play?

Payton’s offense will not be led by Wilson, who signed for the veteran minimum to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Nor will Cousins, Darnold, or likely McCarthy be the next QB in the Mile High City.

Keep in mind, the Broncos could possibly trade up to nab McCarthy if they were really in love with him, but given the team’s lack of picks, that seems quite unlikely.

On top of all that, Baker Mayfield was also re-signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is off the market as well. Oh, and Jameis Winston, who was a possibility, signed to Cleveland, too.

So, who will be the team’s next QB?

There are still some veteran options out there, although, not ones which will likely bring excitement if they’re signed.

Ryan Tannehill is the top name remaining. The 11-year veteran will be 36 when the season kicks off this fall, and he’s more a game manager type quarterback.

Behind him are some familiar faces in Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater; neither of which seem likely as signings. In fact, the Broncos should not sign Lock.

Tyler Huntley, formerly Lamar Jackson’s backup in Baltimore, is an intriguing option. But he may be too much tilted to running the ball for Payton’s offense.

And there is the now-famous Joshua Dobbs, who was the starter for both Arizona and Minnesota for a time last year. The “Passtronaut” is extremely intelligent and could likely pick up Payton’s offense relatively quickly.

It should be noted that the Broncos are in dire straights in terms of the salary cap. They have cut and traded players—like Jerry Jeudy—and are currently around $43M under the cap. But they have many players to sign and roles to fill outside of QB.

Simply, Denver isn’t likely to be very good in 2024, in this current tear down and rebuild year.

One place the Broncos may turn to is the NFL Draft.

Again, assuming they miss out on the top four quarterbacks, that leaves them with options like Nix, Penix, and Spencer Rattler.

George Paton, Sean Payton and Co. could reach at No. 12 and take Nix if they like him enough. Or, the Broncos could decide to take an offensive tackle or edge rusher instead. And then turn around and take, say, Rattler in Round 3 (No. 76).