In need of a starting quarterback after the retirement of Peyton Manning and the loss of Brock Osweiler to Houston in free agency, the Denver Broncos made a trade on Friday to acquire former Jets and Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez from Philadelphia in exchange for a conditional draft pick.

In the roughly 48 hours following the news that Osweiler was leaving for the Texans, most of the conversation about the Broncos possible next quarterback centered around Robert Griffin III, who was released by Washington, Colin Kaepernick, who would have to come in a trade from San Francisco, and Ryan Fitzpatrick, a free agent who played with the Jets in 2015.

Hardly anyone had Mark Sanchez as a possible target. Though the move makes some sense, at least for Philadelphia. With a $4.5 million total cap hit ($4.5 million base, $1 million signing bonus, $1 million dead), Sanchez would be an expensive backup – although Bradford has not proven he can stay healthy for a full season consistently. He’s started less than 16 games in three of his five seasons in the NFL.

(Editorial note: Our own Benjamin Allbright of The Big Show shared this observation about Sanchez on Thursday.)

https://twitter.com/AllbrightNFL/status/708085730921197568

For Denver, the bargain basement cost for Sanchez – if he is indeed their starter in 2016 – means they should have plenty of money to fortify the ranks. Denver will have starting holes to fill at inside linebacker, tight end, running back and defensive end, and could have to replace backups at safety.

Here’s what the team from Mile High Sports, along with some of our favorite follows had to say via Twitter in response to the news.

Mile High Sports Magazine writer Will Petersen summed up the sentiments of most of the MHS staff with this gem..

Here’s what several others had to say…

That sentiment as echoed by several of our favorite local and national peers…

It was not all doom and gloom, however. At least one MHSer likes it.

Former MHS host Peter Burns says at the price, Denver doesn’t even have to play Sanchez, if they don’t want to.

https://twitter.com/PeterBurnsESPN/status/708367347766185984

Some analysts, including Allbright, think this could just be part one of a multi-move plan…

https://twitter.com/AllbrightNFL/status/708358936001257472

Several observers say he could be a $5.5 million insurance policy…

https://twitter.com/Raj_Sharan/status/708362429902692352

Dee White and Frank Schwab had some calming parting shots for Broncos fans…