Prior to free agency, the Denver Broncos are already making big moves

On Friday evening I joined the The Nate Brown Show on Fox Sports Radio in Rapid City, South Dakota to discuss the early offseason moves made by the Denver Broncos.

It’s only mid-February and free agency hasn’t even begun, but John Elway has managed to cause an uproar across Broncos Country with two early moves. Myself, Nate Brown and co-host Dylan Corbet focused our discussion around the two big headlines regarding Brandon Marshall and Joe Flacco this past week. Enjoy the segment and give it a listen by clicking the embedded link below.

In respect to Marshall, it didn’t come as a surprise that the team moved on from the long-time veteran inside linebacker. Despite being an integral part of the team on and off the field, he has been injured the past two seasons and hasn’t been able to make much of an impact. The Broncos save over $5 million in cap space by declining his option, which gives them the ability to make a move for an impact player in free agency such as C.J. Mosley to replace him.

Additionally, we chat about the frenzy sparked by the Flacco trade. While most fans aren’t high on the move, I don’t understand a lot of the outrage. There are several reasons why I believe fans should be optimistic about it.

First and foremost, Flacco fits the mold of what the franchise is hoping to accomplish on the field offensively. The vertical attack down the field was lacking last year with Case Keenum, but Flacco’s ability to connect with precision on deep balls should have fans excited about next year — especially with second-year Courtland Sutton’s penchant for making incredible catches on 50-50 balls.

Secondly, it’s a low-risk move that came at a minuscule cost. A fourth-round pick isn’t much to give up for a starting quarterback. If the move doesn’t end up working out, Flacco’s contract has no guaranteed money left — so it won’t cost the Broncos a dime if they part ways with him at any point in the future.

Last but not least, it’s important to highlight that the move to acquire Flacco doesn’t lessen the team’s desire to acquire a young signal caller in the 2019 NFL Draft. However, I do believe that this move means it’s unlikely that they will trade current and future draft capital to make a big move up the boards for one. I suspect the Broncos would be elated if Lock fell to the tenth overall selection and would snag him up in a heartbeat if he is available. If not, I fully expect them to find someone to develop on the draft’s second day.

Several other questions were posed during the segment, but you’ll have to give it a listen to hear all the details. The Nate Brown Show airs from 4-6 PM (MST) Monday through Friday on 106.7 FM and 1150 AM and can be streamed online. It’s one of the best radio shows out there that features incredible Broncos coverage on a regular basis. Be sure to show your support to Nate and Dylan by giving them follow on Twitter as well as bookmarking the station’s official website. Thanks for listening!