The Denver Broncos are hunting for a new quarterback.
First, they went after Matthew Stafford but were beaten out by the Los Angeles Rams, who overpaid. Then, there were some mixed rumors about whether or not Denver and new GM George Paton reached out about a potential trade for Carson Wentz. And there’s the biggest name of them all, Deshaun Watson, who would be interested to play for the Broncos but they would have to trade a King’s ransom for him.
Which, if the Houston Texans change their minds and decide to trade Watson, the Broncos should absolutely do it, even if it means three first-round picks and Bradley Chubb. Sorry, Mr. Astronaut.
And if the writing weren’t already on the wall for two-year professional Drew Lock, it should be clear as day that Paton isn’t just happy to go in with only Lock as Denver’s QB in 2021.
According to Woody Paige, the Broncos have spoken to Ryan Fitzpatrick, the 38-year old journeyman quarterback with a brilliant beard. He’s also possibly just the right quarterback to bring in and compete with Lock. Because, he could really push the youngster and actually win the job.
Last year, “Fitzmagic” started the season for the Miami Dolphins and helped them to a 3-3 record before being benched for rookie Tua Tagovailoa.
“I was shocked,” Fitzpatrick told the Miami Herald. “It definitely caught me off guard. It was a hard thing for me to hear yesterday, just digesting the news. My heart just hurt all day.”
Fitzpatrick, who’s played in the NFL for 16 seasons, has bounced around as a starter for six different teams, including being the full-time starter in Miami in 2019 and half of last year before being benched. He’s thrown for nearly 35,000 yards with 223 touchdowns compared to 169 interceptions and has a career 82.3 passer rating.
Notably, he lit up the San Francisco 49ers for 350 yards and 3 scores in Week 5 last year before Tagovialoa was given the reins.
Simply, Fitzpatrick has some gas left in the tank, but clearly wouldn’t be a long-term answer at the position. If he were signed to compete with Lock, and beat out the youngster, it would be more an indication of Lock’s near future.
Look, Lock was arguably the worst starting quarterback in the NFL last year, and he was in the bottom-5 according to multiple analytics. There is a lot of potential there, as we saw in Carolina last year and Houston in 2019, but he’s also been downright awful at times. Lock led the league with 15 picks last year and his 57.3 completion percentage was dead-last (35th) among qualified passers.
If the Broncos don’t trade for Watson — which is a long shot — or somehow sign Dak Prescott as a free agent, they will certainly bring in another QB to push Lock. Either the third-year QB out of Missouri will rise to the occasion or he’ll be in misery.
And the way the Broncos are going after veteran QBs, Lock may not get much chance to prove himself to Paton.
Other veteran options could be Andy Dalton or Nick Foles, or even more bland options like Mike Glennon. The only certainty seems to be that Denver won’t enter the season without another could-be starting QB on the roster.