Examining the Broncos’ free-agent quarterback options as the clock ticks down

DENVER — The Denver Broncos’ offseason wishlist appears to be simple: Kirk Cousins.

Unfortunately for them—and fortunately for Cousins himself—a myriad of teams around the league will have this same mindset when free agency begins on Mar. 14, or, unofficially, two days before.

Just because John Elway will have his eyes dead set on Cousins doesn’t mean it’s a guarantee that ol’ No. 8 will make the trek from the nation’s capital to Denver—although Elway’s track record of luring the best and most prolific quarterback on the open market is a perfect 1-for-1.

If, however, Cousins doesn’t land in the Mile High City in a matter of weeks, the Broncos can shift their attention to either the draft, at the end of April, or focus on other free agent options available, because there has to be other options, right? Well, maybe not as many as you may think.

Here’s what will be available when the clock strikes free agency outside of just Kirk Cousins, ranking the options from most desirable for the Broncos to least.

Tier 1

Drew Brees

If Cousins is the gold standard for quarterbacks in free agency, Brees is the platinum standard. That’s why it’s highly unlikely the Saints let Brees leave New Orleans and why both sides have said that won’t happen. If, for some reason, Brees is available and the Broncos do sign him, it would be the ultimate “win now” move.

Kirk Cousins

Thanks to the Kansas City Chiefs, Cousins will hit the open market, which greatly benefits the Chiefs’ rival in the Rocky Mountains.

Cousins will cost an arm and a leg, but after lacking sufficient quarterback play the last two seasons, Elway will be ready to make a chase for likely the best QB available this offseason.

The Vikings quarterbacks plus one

No, Broncos Country, Kyle Sloter is not available to come back to Denver to be your savior. In fact, he’s the ONLY quarterback currently under contract in Minnesota.

Case Keenum

It’s seemingly unbelievable that three of the top six potential free agent quarterbacks—and more realistically three of the top five if Brees signs with the Saints before free agency begins—were all on the same team last year and all realistically could be on different teams next year.

Of the three, Keenum will be the most sought-after and will receive the largest contract after his outstanding 2017 campaign in which he started the year as Sam Bradford’s backup and finished it by leading his team to the NFC Championship game and earning himself a massive contract this offseason.

At 30 years old when free agency opens, Keenum would certainly be “the guy” if the Broncos signed him after throwing for 22 touchdowns to only seven interceptions last season. However, with only one great year under his belt, $18-20 million per year may be too rich.

Teddy Bridgewater

Bridgewater is a fascinating case as he’s the highest risk and the highest reward of the three Vikings quarterbacks. The former first-round pick in 2014 was an up-and-coming young quarterback in the league before suffering a devastating knee injury during training camp before the 2016 season which kept him out the entire season and part of 2017.

At 25 years old, Bridgewater will likely receive a “prove it” deal, meaning a team will be able to get him for cheaper than other quarterbacks—potentially $9-13 million per year—on a one-to-two year deal. Bridgewater to the Broncos makes sense if Denver believes he can return to being a promising young quarterback and/or if they want a cheaper option to potentially pair with a rookie.

A.J. McCarron

If $27.5 million per year for Jimmy Garapollo blew your mind after his seven career starts and $18 million per year was crazy for Brock Osweiler after his seven career starts, wait until you see the type of money A.J. McCarron will command after only three.

After sitting behind Andy Dalton’s for four seasons in Cincinnati, the former Alabama product is expected to command a price tag between $15-18 million per season. With plenty of unknowns in his game, it’s not exactly certain how interested the Broncos will be in him.

Sam Bradford

During his eight seasons in the NFL, Bradford has played all 16 games twice in his career, with the last being in 2012. Bradford’s career has been defined by the large amount of money he’s accumulated and his injuries.

The most concerning injury for the next team Bradford ends up with was his most recent one. After a magnificent game in Week 1 of 2017—in which he threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns—Bradford only played in one other game the entire season after being placed on the injured reserve with wear and tear on the knee that already had two ACL surgeries.

On the other hand, in 2016, Bradford set the NFL record for completion percentage (71.6) only to be topped by Brees in 2017 (72). Bradford is on the border of being viewed, and payed, as “the guy, ” or he could be a stop-gap quarterback as a team develops a young quarterback (read below) as Denver may do.

Stop-gap QBs

Josh McCown

If the Broncos are looking for a quarterback to groom a talented young rookie, there may be no better person than McCown. At 39 years old once the season begins, McCown is the ultimate journeyman quarterback, playing for eight different teams in his career.

If Denver wants to let a young player learn from the sidelines for a season, McCown would give the Broncos a chance to compete in the short-term as he threw for 18 touchdowns to only nine interceptions with the New York Jets last year. However, his age along with his 23-50 career record, wouldn’t make him anything more than an option for a year or two.

Jay Cutler

O, how entertaining this would be. And that’s one of the reasons why it’s highly unlikely.

Cutler would likely join the broadcast booth, again, before doing this, but if for some reason Denver doesn’t land their quarterback in free agency and is not comfortable starting whichever rookie they draft, they could turn to Cutler after the draft to bring back No. 6 to Denver for a year.

Backup and nothing more

The four players mentioned below would be options for Denver purely as backups. Brock Osweiler would make sense as Denver’s backup as he proved he can play in a pinch last year as well as he’s a great teammate. However, Trevor Siemian is under contract for one more season so the Broncos can focus purely on finding a starter, not a backup.

Brock Osweiler

Ryan Fitzpatrick

Matt Moore

Chase Daniel