Steve Young wishes he had ‘jumped in’ with Broncos after Elway

The Denver Broncos’ journey to replace John Elway could’ve been a quick one, if Steve Young had made a different decision.

For years, there’s been rumors and reports that former Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan wanted Young to come to Denver after the 1999 season. Instead, the Hall of Fame QB played his final three games in the NFL that year with the San Francisco 49ers. He was concussed by the Cardinals in Week 3 and would never take another pro snap.

Of course, Elway retired after the 1998 season, going out as a back-to-back Super Bowl champion. Shanahan and the Broncos rolled with Brian Griese at the QB position in 1999 and finished a disappointing 6-10.

Shanahan was Young’s offensive coordinator with 49ers from 1992-1994 and eyed a reunion in Denver. That didn’t happen, as Young’s brutal concussion history made him step away from the game.

But if the three-time Super Bowl champion could do it all over again, he’d make a different decision. Appearing on “Pardon My Take” on Wednesday, Young addressed the Denver rumors and says he wished he would’ve “jumped in.”

Steve Young was almost a Bronco after John Elway retired pic.twitter.com/iOEuuAI94a

— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) December 11, 2024

“I spent some time in Denver. We were ready… we we’re thinking about it,” Young said. “(Shanahan) was all-in. He was all-in, and I just… I don’t know.”

Young goes on to mention his wife regrets not pushing him harder to go play for the Broncos. He also says he was “emotionally cooked in some ways,” but added the comment about jumping and says he could’ve played in Denver for two or three years.

It’s definitely an interesting “what if?” in Broncos history, especially because the team only made the playoffs one time in the first four seasons after Elway retired. Eventually Jake Plummer took over in 2003, and Denver went to the postseason three years in a row.

The franchise has been really lucky with Elway and Peyton Manning playing under center, but apparently it was awful close to having a guy like Steve Young as well.

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