There’s going to be chatter this offseason about a certain veteran QB coming to the gorgeous Centennial state.
He’s been in the league a long time and has had some success.
He’s certainly a more exciting option than either Trevor Siemian or Paxton Lynch at this point.
And there are growing whispers he may not be happy in his current situation.
The quarterback I’m talking about is, of course, Ton… Philip Rivers.
Man, can you imagine that?
One of the Broncos’ most hated rivals over the years coming to Denver, and like Peyton Manning, winning a Super Bowl and riding off into that orange Colorado sunset? Rivers being Denver’s QB the next four years or so makes perfect sense.
First, the Broncos are a veteran QB away from going to their third Super Bowl in five years next season. The defense that won Super Bowl 50 was still largely intact this past season and, thanks to the brilliant work by John Elway, getting people locked up will be in 2017 as well.
The weapons are there at wide receiver with Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. C.J. Anderson should be healthy and back with a vengeance, and Devontae Booker should take a big step forward in season two.
Sure, offensive line and tight end could both use some improving, but besides landing Rivers what else is No. 7 going to shore up this offseason? It’s the o-line and tight end trio; whoever the next QB is will have significantly better players at those two position groups than either Siemian or Lynch did in 2016.
With Rivers the missing link, the Broncos would project as the scariest and most complete team in football.
Rivers and the Chargers can claim all they want the QB is happy with the move to Los Angeles, but that would be a pretty stark change in opinion from a couple of years ago.
“What we’ve established here with my growing family is hard to recreate,” Rivers told the San Diego Union-Tribune on March 16, 2015. “It’s hard to up and recreate that. I know that moves are part of life. But that certainly is fair to say that [not being sold on moving to Los Angeles] is part of it. The good thing is I’m not under contract in a year where we’d potentially be in Los Angeles.”
Rivers, of course, did end up eventually signing a contract extension with San Diego, but those thoughts on L.A. are pretty clear.
A lot has been made of Rivers and his eight children, his conservative views and not wanting to live in a generally liberal and star-crazed town like Hollywood. And a former teammate backed that up.
“Him not wanting to go to L.A. is very valid,” LaDainian Tomlinson said on NFL Network around the same time as Rivers’ original comments.
Yes, those comments are two years old, and of course Rivers is going to say all the right things now about Los Angeles. But just like your politics probably didn’t change much in the last two years, I doubt Rivers’ did, either. Whether or not Los Angeles is a good place to raise a family is a debate for a different day, but it’s clear which side of that Rivers falls on.
Denver isn’t exactly the most conservative city in the country, but it doesn’t come with the fanfare and attention Rivers probably doesn’t like about Los Angeles.
So, how could a deal get done?
The Broncos’ first round pick at No. 20 seems like a good place to start, followed by whichever QB the Chargers want. Siemian or Lynch, pick one or the other, and there’s your deal. If they pick Siemian, that’s fine, you held onto your first round pick from a season ago. If they pick Lynch, oh well, he didn’t show a ton of potential and Siemian would be a fine backup after the experience he gained last year.
This may sound like a bit of a crazy and hard-to-make-happen idea, but so was Peyton Manning coming to Denver at this time five years ago. If anyone can pull something like this off in the NFL, it’s John Elway.
Tony Romo will be the name you hear an awful lot about the next couple months to be the Broncos quarterback, but Philip Rivers makes more sense in Denver. And both sides could get on board, as it makes Denver a Super Bowl favorite again and bails Rivers out of having to move his family to Los Angeles.
Let the chatter and speculation begin.
Rivers should load up the kids and head east, stopping just a few hours after cresting those gorgeous Rocky Mountains.