Denver Broncos Acquire Joe Flacco
by: Milad Ghaemi
John Elway has been in search of a franchise quarterback since the retirement of Peyton Manning, and now he may have found one. The Broncos had a disappointing season in 2018, finishing 6-10 and 3rd in the AFC West. Case Keenum was brought in to Denver with the goal of bringing stability at the quarterback position after the failures of Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch the previous seasons. Now the Broncos have traded for the starting quarterback to open in the 2018 season for the Baltimore Ravens in hope that he can provide stability. Joe Flacco was eventually replaced by Lamar Jackson, the rookie quarterback drafted by the Ravens and spent the playoffs keeping the bench warm for the Ravens. The Ravens believe they have a new era with Lamar Jackson and essentially traded the expensive contract of Joe Flacco to the Denver Broncos.
This trade seems like a win-win because the Broncos get to bring in a veteran presence in the locker with the opportunity to seal a starting job on the AFC West team. For the Ravens, they know will be able to move on with more cap space that can be allotted to holes in other positions that must be filled before the start of the season. Joe Flacco has had some average seasons as quarterback for the Ravens after winning the Super Bowl in 2013. Since then the Ravens have flown under the radar with solid seasons that were playoff worthy, but not with the chance of contending for a Super Bowl. Hopefully for the Broncos, the fresh start for Flacco will lead to a playoff berth for the Broncos who finished poorly not only in the AFC West but also in the entire NFL. The Broncos are in desperate need of a quarterback with a premier defense featuring Von Miller that, with even a conservative quarterback who won’t turnover the football, will have the opportunity to go far and, at least, gain some relevance across the league.
A question for John Elway and the Broncos is will they still draft a quarterback this summer? Elway may feel he has good options on the board and will try to bring in a young face of the franchise that can be groomed with the concurrent presence of Joe Flacco. On the other hand, the Ravens tried that with Lamar Jackson and it ended up hindering the confidence of Joe Flacco leading to a deterioration of his play. A lot will be figured out with the Broncos this offseason, but the decision on drafting a quarterback will give fans a strong insight into the intentions of the Broncos and what they plan on doing not only at quarterback, but with their entire team.