All that QB competition for Drew Lock seems to be avoiding the Denver Broncos. As Ian St. Clair and I sat down to record the MHR Radio Podcast, we had free agency on our minds.
The obvious news for Denver involved picking up Von Miller’s option, and resigning Shelby Harris to a new deal. That’s all great news. Broncos Country is elated about those moves. Add in Justin Simmons being franchise tagged, and Ronald Darby being brought in, and the defense has been a clear focal point for George Paton.
One area that hasn’t been addressed is Drew Lock’s competition. If you followed the signings, you saw Andy Dalton, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jacoby Brissett, and Jameis Winston agree to terms with teams. You also saw Tyrod Taylor join the Houston Texans. We will get to that in a bit.
It looks like the possible competition for Lock is slowly finding its way to other teams. That could change, but it feels like something else is happening here.
The QBs for whom you’d trade (in the competition-for-Lock category) have cap figures that will likely remain lower than QBs like Smith/Trubisky on the open market. Part of why I expect a trade to be the play. Minshew in particular would have an $850K figure if dealt. A steal. https://t.co/ecCGR0HPyh
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) March 17, 2021
If you follow the logic, trading for a QB is a better deal than potentially paying a free agent. It makes sense to target a player like Gardner Minshew, or even Sam Darnold. If the price is right, Paton might make a move to trade for Lock’s competition.
However, one thing we know is that George Paton isn’t interested in bringing in a QB that is a lateral move. If Lock isn’t going to be the starter it will be because his competition is better than him.
The other potential signal being sent is that Paton is going to push all in on a move for Deshaun Watson. Remember that Tyrod Taylor signing? Houston seems to have brought in a solid backup for Watson. Or, the Texans know that they will be moving on, and they need to have a veteran QB to serve as a bridge.
If the Texans are preparing to trade Watson, the Broncos are positioned to be contenders in the QB sweepstakes.