By Jordan Long
The Denver Broncos may have their answer at quarterback for next year. They decided to trade a 4th-round pick in the NFL Draft to the Baltimore Ravens for Joe Flacco. Flacco is projected to be the starter while Denver is expected to move on from Case Keenum who they will either trade or release. The deal for Flacco can’t be finalized until March 13th, the start of the league year.
Denver was hoping Keenum would be the answer at quarterback last year. He struggled at times and tried to throw the ball into double coverage while being rushed. It didn’t help that his offensive line didn’t protect him with 34 sacks. Keenum ended with 3,890 passing yards and 18 touchdowns but was picked off 15 times and added 8 fumbles, far too many.
Denver saw enough of Keenum and wanted an upgrade at the position. Flacco might be what Denver needs to be a playoff team once again. Flacco didn’t have his best season in 2018. He passed for 2,465 yards and 12 touchdowns. Flacco protected the ball but still managed to throw 6 interceptions. He started 9 games for the Ravens and they went 4-5.
Flacco missed 8 games this past year with a hip injury suffered in week 9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was injured on the 1st series of the game but didn’t miss a snap. That forced the Ravens to start rookie Lamar Jackson who went 6-1 and guided them to the playoffs while winning the AFC North Division. Their season came to a close against the L.A. Chargers in the Wild Card round.
The Ravens saw enough of Jackson and believe he is their future. Baltimore wanted to make a deal to ship Flacco out of Baltimore. This saves them $10.5 million in cap space.
For the Broncos, this is an improvement at the position. Flacco should be able to make better decisions with the football than Keenum and find his open receivers. This will help the Broncos march down the field to put more points on the scoreboard.
The Broncos took care of their biggest need this offseason. It is still possible they will draft a quarterback who can be the future of their franchise. fffffffffff
Leave a Reply