With all the hype that is NFL free agency starting this morning, Denver has lost key players to other teams around the league, most importantly Brock Osweiler, who signed a lucrative deal in Houston. After losing two quarterbacks in less than a week, Denver finds themselves without a signal caller. I guess this is the downside of winning a Super Bowl. Free agency is an important part of the game and everybody knew that the Orange & Blue were going to lose players; the upside to all this is Denver has a chance to scoop up a veteran journeyman by the name of Ryan Fitzpatrick from the New York Jets.
“Fitz” has been in the league since 2005 and has played for a total of six teams, including the Jets last season. Now, I understand that might not be the best way to sell you on him being the best option for the Mile High Crew but hear me out. Just look at his numbers from last season, an impressive 31 touchdowns to only 15 interceptions with 3905 total yards from scrimmage. That stat line is better than the recently retired Peyton Manning had all season.
Looking at numbers and stats aside, the man is smart when it comes to Football. Looking at his Wonderlic scores (a test to measure Football IQ) he scored a 48 out of 50 total points, still the highest in NFL history. I guess that Harvard education paid off in the long run.
Fitzpatrick was one game away from making his first appearance in the postseason in his long career last season but fell one game short. After beating New England in week 16, a win that was an insurmountable help for the Broncos in clinching the overall No.1 seed in the playoffs, the Jets lost their season finale to Buffalo, sending the veteran home before the postseason for the 10th total time.
Now, Fitzpatrick is just one name in the long list of potential candidates that include former Washington Redskin RGIII and current San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick.
Whoever is running the show here in Denver next season knows they have a crushing defense and a talented receiving core at their disposal. Whether it be Fitz, RGIII, Kaep, or someone out of the draft, one thing is for sure, 2016 is shaping up to be a very interesting season.
