Since Peyton Manning went out with injury midway through the season last year, we’ve been asking ourselves what the future looks like for the Broncos at quarterback. And while we’ve contemplated many options, in the end it always came back down to Brock Osweiler.
Well … shucks.
Today, Osweiler decided to take his talents to Houston, and the Denver Broncos are now left without a starting quarterback — no, Trevor Siemian is not a viable option.
This truly is the doomsday scenario. Maybe John Elway was completely right in not giving Osweiler, a quarterback with only seven starts to his name, $18 million a year, but that doesn’t mean we’re in a desirable situation. While there are a lot of names floating about, there’s no guarantee that the Broncos come away with anybody that’s better than Osweiler, even if he were to cost $18 million.
Nonetheless, here are five quarterbacks who could be starting in Denver next season:
5. Paxton Lynch
EXPERIENCE: 0 years DRAFT: Projected late-1st, early-2nd round pick (Memphis)
CAREER STARTS: 38 HONORS: None
’15 CAP HIT: N/A PREDICTED ’16 CAP HIT: $1.5 M
LAST YEAR: 66.8% completion; 3,778 yards; 28 touchdowns; 4 interceptions
WHY IT MAKE SENSE: If the Denver Broncos can’t bring anybody in during free agency, their last option may be the draft, and that’s where things get tricky. The top two prospects, Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, are sure to be long gone by the time the Broncos pick at 31, and that leaves Paxton Lynch, the consensus No. 3 quarterback in the draft, as the best option in the first round.
At times this year, Lynch was seen as a top-10 talent, but the draft process has worn down his stock. Maybe the Broncos bet on his upside, even if he is a quarterback that likely needs to sit a few years.
