Report: Broncos were among the teams interested in Matthew Stafford

According to 9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis, the Broncos were among the teams in trade talks with the Detroit Lions for quarterback Matthew Stafford. He ultimately ended up going to the Los Angeles Rams for a haul and Jared Goff and his contract, but the Broncos were contenders for his services.

Klis even tweeted that one agent involved in these talks told him that the Broncos were among the top three front-runners for Stafford. So their interest was pretty legit and likely included the 9th overall pick AND Drew Lock.

The 9th overall selection, Drew Lock and the Broncos young offensive core interested the Lions which made the Broncos strong contenders for Stafford. However, per Klis, General Manager George Paton was reluctant to part ways with the 9th overall selection and part of the teams young offensive core (likely one more of the wide receivers).

Per sources, the Lions were interested in making the Broncos a trade partner because Denver had the No. 9 overall pick in this year’s draft and possessed a talented and inexpensive young offensive core that included quarterback Drew Lock. Stafford, who had say in where he would be traded, did approve the Broncos, according to sources, although the Rams were his preferred destination.

Klis also adds that Stafford did approve of coming to Denver despite recent reports stating otherwise, so that is interesting as well.

In the end, it’s safe to assume that the Broncos will likely remain heavily involved in the quarterback market this offseason. General Manager George Paton showed his hand on how he feels about the Broncos quarterback position. If you feel like Drew Lock is your quarterback of the future, you don’t offer him up and likely a first-round pick for a 31-year old quarterback who’s a fringe top 10 quarterback in this league. I’m a big actions > word guy and Paton’s and the Broncos actions here speak loudly to me.

Now, does this mean the Broncos will for sure move on from Drew Lock this offseason? Of course not. There are a lot of teams looking to upgrade at quarterback and they could just decide to run it back with Lock and bank on his potential next season. Now, with that said, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them after another veteran or aggressive in the draft to acquire their quarterback.

Either way, Drew Lock’s future with the Broncos just got a lot more murkier. What do you think the Broncos next move will be or do you think Stafford was just a special case?