Three quarterbacks the Broncos loved in the past are options for 2021

The Denver Broncos have swung and missed on the quarterback position for years. Former general manager John Elway has talked about how he’ll keep swinging, but how about if new GM George Paton had a hit? What if Paton could hit immediately at the quarterback position? Doing that would make this roster, which Paton sees as a “sleeping giant,” wake up in a hurry.

In the past, the Broncos have been rumored to have interest in quarterbacks who have become quality players in the pros. They’ve also been linked to quarterbacks who have been average at best, or perhaps got hot at the right time. Well, perhaps some of those on the wish list from the past could be the answer for the team going forward.

Here are three quarterbacks the Broncos loved coming out of college – who they did not draft – which might be options for them in 2021.

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Nick Foles | Chicago Bears

The 2012 NFL dDaft featured three quarterbacks the Broncos liked at the time. My sources back then told me the Broncos liked Nick Foles out of Arizona, Brock Osweiler out of Arizona State and Russell Wilson out of Wisconsin. We all know which one of those three the Broncos chose, and how that didn’t work out as planned. Yes, the team doesn’t get to Super Bowl 50 without Osweiler, but he didn’t become the heir apparent to Peyton Manning like the team had planned.

Elway and his right-hand man Matt Russell scouted Foles in person at a game up in Boulder when Arizona played against Colorado. In that game, Foles tossed three interceptions against a Buffs secondary that featured running backs playing cornerback because injuries had decimated the position. Regardless of that bad showing, there was plenty of buzz that the team was going to consider Foles.

He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round that year, won a Super Bowl leading the team from the backup to the starting job, and then has bounced around the league. Currently with the Chicago Bears, Foles might be available via trade.

He’s on the books with a $6.6 million cap hit in 2021 but there is over $10 million remaining in dead money. Foles could come in and compete with Drew Lock for the starting job and it wouldn’t take much to get him from the Bears. At this time, Foles might be part of a package the Bears send to the Eagles for Carson Wentz. So, even if the Broncos want Foles again, he could be on his way back to Philadelphia for the third time in his career.

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Russell Wilson | Seattle Seahawks

As aforementioned, Wilson has been a favorite of the Broncos for some time. A draft pick of the Colorado Rockies, Wilson has been a superstar quarterback in the NFL from day one. Back in 2012, there was a lot of buzz about how Elway loved what Wilson showed in college both at Wisconsin and N.C. State.

The buzz was so strong about their interest in Wilson that I asked him at the Senior Bowl if he would like to come to Denver as a backup to Tim Tebow. It’s a stupid question looking back, but at the time the Broncos had just lost to the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round of the playoffs (the day before I talked to Wilson in fact).

Wilson was so mad at me that he stood up and kind of puffed up his chest with his answer about how he wants to be known as a passer and not just as a runner in the NFL. It was that passion which helped Wilson shine as a pro.

The Seattle Seahawks drafted him in the third round with the idea that he could develop behind expensive free agent Matt Flynn. It didn’t take long for Wilson to show he was much better than Flynn, and he started for Seattle in Week 1 of his rookie season. He’s won a Super Bowl with Seattle, but now it seems as though Wilson is tired of getting beat up behind what has mostly been a poor offensive line his entire career.

Sports betting web sites have the Broncos as the fifth-most likely destination for Wilson if he is on the trade block. In a recent interview with Dan Patrick, Wilson responded that he didn’t know if he was on the block and that’s a “Seahawks question.” It seems outlandish (and I don’t think he gets traded), but if the Broncos could get Wilson that would be an incredible move.

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Dak Prescott | Dallas Cowboys

In a different timeline or dimension, there is a version of the Broncos where Dak Prescott is their quarterback. I remember watching Prescott at the 2016 Senior Bowl and thinking that he would be the perfect quarterback for then-Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak. It wasn’t long after that, I learned that Kubiak did love Prescott and the team had serious interest in the Mississippi State prospect.

In fact, Prescott was invited for a private workout at UC Health Training Center leading up to the 2016 NFL Draft. I had a late first-round grade on Prescott, which was unheard of at the time, but coming off their Super Bowl 50 win, I thought Denver could consider Prescott with the No. 31 overall pick (the Patriots lost their pick for DeflateGate).

Prescott was on his way to the airport, but bad traffic in Orlando caused him to miss his flight to Denver. I’m sure that didn’t sit well with the Broncos brass, and next thing you know the team is moving up five spots to select Paxton Lynch (oops!).

Prescott fell all the way to the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, and the Dallas Cowboys – who desperately wanted Lynch – picked him up. When Tony Romo was injured that year, Prescott stepped in and the rest is history.

He played out his rookie contract, but was unable to work out a long-term deal with the Cowboys, so they slapped the franchise tag on him for the 2020 season. That one-year deal has expired, and Prescott is set to be an unrestricted free agent. The two sides are working on a deal, but not much progress has been made.

Add in the fact that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is excited about this hot quarterback trade market and it’s easy to see how perhaps Prescott might have played his last snap in Dallas. Like Wilson, I don’t think Prescott winds up on the block, but crazier things have happened.

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Summary

The Broncos are looking to move on from Lock as their starter. They at least want to bring in competition for him this offseason, and that’s why a guy like Foles could be an option. If they want to out-and-out replace him as the starter, and likely trade him away, then Wilson or Prescott could be options – in addition to the dream of Deshaun Watson. If the Broncos want to move forward, perhaps looking to their past misses will be the best plan to get that ever-elusive “hit” at the quarterback position.

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