By Jordan Long
The Denver Broncos’ coaching staff as well as General Manager John Elway are at the NFL Scouting Combine. They will watch potential draft picks take part in drills. The Broncos are also going to interview some of them to get to know them. Once that is over on March 4th, Denver must figure out what to do with quarterback Case Keenum.
Keenum agreed to a 2-year, $36 million contract last offseason. Denver hoped he was going to be the quarterback for the next few years. He had an up and down season. There were times where Keenum tossed the football to the wide open man for large chunks of yards. Other times he forced the ball into double coverage or right to the defender for interceptions. Keenum ended with 3,890 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. It didn’t help he was sacked 34 times.
Denver saw enough and knew Keenum was not the future for the Denver Broncos. They traded for Baltimore Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco. Keenum was surprised Denver traded for Flacco since he is still under contract with the team. The Broncos must make a decision with Keenum.
John Elway isn’t sure what they are going to do. According to sports.yahoo.com, Elway said, “We don’t know yet. As I told Case when I talked to him, the different options that we are going to work with him and give him time to think about it. We’ll circle back with Case and see where he is and go from there.”
There are a few options Denver has with Keenum. The 1st is to keep Keenum on the roster. He could battle out Flacco for the starting role in training camp. If Keenum fails to do so, then keep him as the backup. There aren’t many teams in the NFL who have a veteran backup quarterback who has experience in the league.
The 2nd option is to trade him. Teams may want Keenum on their roster. It may not improve the quarterback play but at least they would have a quarterback who knows the NFL game. Denver might only receive a 5th or 6th round pick, but at least that is something. The downside is Keenum’s contract. He is owed $18 million and his cap hit is $21 million which is a lot to take on for cap space even as a backup. Franchises will shy away from taking that much on.
The last possibility is for Denver to cut him. Releasing Keenum allows him a fresh start. He would then be a free agent. Any team could pick him up. The difficulty with this decision is the cap space for the Broncos. Cutting Keenum forces Denver to have $10 million in dead cap space. That money can’t be used for free agents.
General Manager John Elway is trying to improve the team from their 6-10 finish last season. Elway will do what his best for the team, even if it means moving on from Keenum.
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