John Elway speaks openly about the Broncos potentially adding a veteran quarterback

As one reporter relayed to John Elway at the NFL Scouting Combine on Wednesday afternoon, conventional wisdom in NFL circles is that he and the Denver Broncos will make a play on a veteran quarterback this offseason.

“Then I guess I should,” Elway said before a pause and a good laugh.

Jokes aside, it’s the truth. Around the league, it is widely believed that the Broncos are going to be in play for a veteran QB, more specifically Tony Romo. Elway was later asked more directly about if a proven vet is in the plans.

“I’ll say this, we’re going to look at all the options once they become available,” the Broncos vice president of football operations and general manager said. “If it’s best for the Denver Broncos, and it’s best for this team—it’s not only about winning next year, it’s also what it does in the future too—so all of those things will come into the discussion and once we get to that point and we know where we are, we’ll kick the tires on everything, do our homework on everything and make the best decision on what we think is right for the Broncos.”

One thing that will go into that discussion is how the possibility of adding a veteran would affect the young quarterbacks that already have a locker at Dove Valley.

“Well, I mean, that’s a concern,” Elway said openly. “Does it stunt their growth? Where does it put those guys? How do they handle it? All those types of questions come into the discussion if we were to go down that road. How does it affect those young guys and how does it affect their reps? Are they going to still continue to get better or are we going to impede their growth if we were to do that? Those are all things that go into consideration when we think about whether we’re going to bring in a veteran guy or not.”

“Everyone thinks we just talk about next year, but we don’t,” he added. “We talk about the impact that has two, three, four years down the line and how does that affect us now? Eventually, once we get through all of those scenarios, make a decision and see what happens. When you make a decision, whether it be a quarterback, an offensive lineman, whatever it is, especially in free agency, you talk about what’s that going to do to you two or three years down the line.”

While rumors have circulated regarding what the Broncos would do with their current quarterbacks if they were to add another, the man in charge said it’s possible the team could keep both young players and add a veteran. After all, it’s not as if Siemian or Lynch are costing the team much money.

In the end, right now John Elway is trying to figure out how to get the franchise he loves back to the promised land, and he’ll do whatever it takes to do just that.

“We’re open to anything,” he concluded. “We’ll always look at it. This is the time of year that you try to discuss everything, every possibility, what might be available, what might not be available and talk about that and see how it affects us. We talk about all those types of things, and we’ll see what happens… I think we’re good enough on the defensive side [to win a championship]. I think we have to get better offensively and this is the time of year that we have to get better.”