The Denver Broncos failed with Russell Wilson at quarterback. What’s next?،
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos have repeatedly tried to find the answer to the question they still have at quarterback after the financially painful decision to release Russell Wilson on Monday after two seasons.
Ever since Peyton Manning hoisted the Lombardi Trophy after Super Bowl 50 on the verge of retirement, the Broncos have seen every step they've taken to replace him shatter their post-season dreams into tiny pieces. -season.
They used a first round pick – Paxton Lynch – they used Day 2 picks (Brock Osweiler and Drew Lock) and they used a late round pick (Trevor Siemian). They signed veteran free agents in hopes of clearing some more, like Case Keenum, Joe Flacco and Teddy Bridgewater.
They replaced Brandon Allen, Jeff Driskel and Brett Rypien due to injury.
And they went all in, this time we really mean it, betting everything to trade for Wilson. The Broncos gambled on the draft picks — five total, including two first-round picks and two second-round picks — and they bet cash on the five-year, $242.6 million contract.
They are betting on the health of their salary cap, on their strategy and they are betting at least part of it on the future. And they lost.
Again.
Consider that Siemian, with 13 wins in his time as the Broncos' starter, leads the group in this category.
The Broncos are on a list of only five NFL teams that have appeared in at least eight Super Bowls. Hall of Fame owner Pat Bowlen has seen his team make more title game appearances than losing seasons during his three decades atop the league's organizational chart.
But the Broncos are not that team anymore. Instead, they have an eight-year streak of playoff failure – the team's longest since it was a struggling AFL franchise.
They reside in the same division as the 28-year-old alpha that is Patrick Mahomes. The quarterback just led the Kansas City Chiefs to their fourth Super Bowl – and third victory – in five years with a starting lineup built largely on the draft. Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Tua Tagovailoa and rookie of the year in CJ Stroud lead the AFC teams.
In short, the idea that the Broncos will make everything right when they find a quarterback who is equal to or better than some, or all, of these passers seems a risky proposition at best and a path to madness at worst.
With their tight salary cap and limited ability to add free agents, their ability to find a quarterback in free agency who even plays at the level Wilson did when coach Sean Payton benched him is maybe/maybe not at most a gamble.
Of course, you don't get much done in the NFL without a guy behind center who can handle all facets of the job, including crunch times, meetings, locker rooms and prime time.
But the Broncos need a plan, an adjustment and a little patience. Mahomes isn't even in his prime playing years if he stays healthy, and the Broncos have changed coaches, point guards, quarterbacks and management like they were dry cleaning.
They signed Wilson, Randy Gregory and Frank Clark, then shipped them out – dead money be damned – in two seasons or less.
The Broncos need to dig in, pick a path and stay there – at quarterback, in the draft and in free agency. And it's not about Sean Payton, George Paton or even the next quarterback who opens a season behind center. It's owner/CEO Greg Penner's fault.
As the Broncos move within the Walton-Penner group, Penner's challenge is to make sure the salary cap remains manageable, the draft is used as it should be and those who report to him have good answers. He must ensure that the new players do not get rid of the old players.
The Broncos have led change in the league over the past eight years. Quarterback changes, depth chart changes, coaching changes, general manager changes and even ownership changes.
And change almost always follows NFL failure, an annual rite of passage when the public demands heads roll over the inability to even sniff the playoffs. But the change didn't work out at all for the Broncos.
The Broncos had two ways with Wilson. Make a blockbuster trade to sign him to the mega-deal and commit to making it work for three to five years. Or just not close the deal in the first place and take another fork in the road instead.
The Broncos did neither. They made the deal and didn't commit to it. Because of change, because of impatience, because they don't hold on to anything these days.
With one of the tightest salary caps in the league, a thin depth chart with three of their own first-round picks and a four-year stretch in which they picked three times in the top 45, the Broncos are ready for a painful 2024. .
And what they do from here, not only at the quarterback position, but with the depth chart surrounding it, will determine whether they can regain franchise glory. It could also determine whether they'll be another lost soul staring into a glass at Last Call in memory mode, talking about past victories while wondering, once again, where it all went.
