The Broncos have a quarterback, but they may not be done

Well, actually, the Case is not closed.

The Denver Broncos kicked over the first domino of the great quarterback chase of 2017 late on Monday night, when news surfaced that the team intends to sign former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Case Keenum.

But as John Elway famously said after signing Mark Sanchez in March of 2016, “This is the first step in our process.”

Now, let’s not get it twisted, Case Keenum is far from Mark Sanchez—allow his 22 touchdowns to seven interceptions in 2017 to be proof of that—but the process, whatever that process may be, has only just begun.

You see, the signing of Keenum, while not sexy in nature, opens up a myriad of options for the Broncos and puts them into a firm position of power.

Let’s start with the options at the quarterback position, because, well, that’s why you’re here.

Due to the expected short-term structure and team-friendly nature of the impending deal with Keenum, the Broncos are not handcuffed in what they can do at quarterback. If they’re sitting there at No. 5 and Josh Rosen, Baker Mayfield or another quarterback that they covet falls into their lap, they are most certainly in a position where they can pull the trigger and begin grooming their long-term franchise quarterback.

“It depends on what you have in your fold,” head coach Vance Joseph said at the NFL Combine when asked if he believes in throwing a young QB right into the fire. “If he has to be the guy, he has to be the guy, but if you have time to allow them to wait and watch, that’s probably the best situation for a young quarterback.”

After all, nobody complained about the signing of Matt Flynn when Russell Wilson was winning the Super Bowl.

Here’s the most important thing, though, the signing of Keenum protects the Broncos from disaster. If the team went all in on Cousins, missed out, and in the process saw Case Keenum go to somewhere else, too, they would have entered the draft in full-desperation mode. That very desperation would have hamstrung them in trade talks and also open up the possibility of getting jumped by other quarterback-desperate teams that knew they had to get in front of the Broncos. Yes, it’s not inconceivable that Denver could have ended up with the fifth-best quarterback in the draft at pick No. 5.

Now, with a quarterback in the fold, the Broncos are the opposite of desperate. They are sitting pretty. Early run on quarterbacks? Great, maybe that opens an avenue for Saquon Barkley. Want to get Quenton Nelson? Sweet, that possibility is wide open. Bradley Chubb falls? Awesome, he’s ripe for the picking.

Oh, and that’s not all. Ready to stock up? Cool, the Bills are the quarterback-desperate team now, and they are ready to be fleeced for the No. 12 and No. 22 overall picks. Now you could potentially get an offensive lineman and another quarterback. Or maybe you want an Aqib Talib replacement, go right ahead.

You catch the drift here? That fifth-overall slot just got a whole lot more interesting, and that’s a fantastic thing for the Broncos.

“This is just the first step in the process.”

Saddle up.