This town ain’t big enough for Broncos quarterbacks and . One of them has to go, sooner than one of them would like.
Itap a major problem, and if the next coach in Denver doesn’t have a workable solution, he’s not the right man for the job.
If the Broncos, as general manager insists, are truly intent on making a strong run at the next season, Elway needs to give his new coach a veteran quarterback. You don’t have to be as football smart as Kyle Shanahan, Vance Joseph or Dave Toub to see:
Lynch requires training wheels. Siemian is a career backup in this league.
So here comes the tricky part: . Is Jerry Jones really going to let him end his career as a cheerleader? Well, Romo might look good shaking his pompoms in booty shorts. But I think he’d look better in a Broncos uniform. High risk? Yes. We all know Romo’s recent injury history is a pain in the back.
Then ask: Can Denver really afford to waste another year of this championship defense with a young quarterback not ready for prime time? tried that bluff this year, and it ended with ugly shouting in a locker room divided by the frustration of seven losses.
On the final Sunday of the NFL season, while Kubiak was preparing to tell his players goodbye, Romo led the Cowboys to a touchdown on his first drive back from injury. If Romo had been the Broncos’ quarterback in the second half of the season, Elway would be looking forward to a playoff game against Pittsburgh this weekend instead of searching for a coach to replace Kubiak.
I’m not saying Romo is absolutely the answer. But if Elway kicked the tires a year ago on and actually spent real American dollars to confirm can’t play a lick, then the Romo option needs to be explored.
The first question is: How much would he cost, if the Cowboys insist on trading rather than releasing Romo, who led the NFL in quarterback rating as recently as 2014? There are reasonable and prudent concerns about the hefty contract of a veteran QB who has only been healthy enough to appear in four games during the past two seasons. But at a base salary of $14 million in 2017, Romo falls more in line with the going rate for than .
Could Romo stay healthy for an entire season? Fair question. My answer: missed six starts in 2015, and the Broncos won the Super Bowl. Whatap more, the Broncos would have a capable backup in Siemian or Lynch.
Romo will turn 37 in April. His days in the NFL are numbered. He’s the right age to be a mentor to Siemian or Lynch. An old lion roars while young cub learns. There’s a relationship that works. Go with Romo and go all-in for the Super Bowl next season.
Or stand pat and let the quarterback problem fester. The relationship between Siemian and Lynch cannot possibly work long-term. Here’s why: These two young quarterbacks are separated by birth by a little more than two years. They both deserve a chance to play.
After earning the trust of Kubiak and 14 starts, Siemian has reason to believe he can thrive in the NFL. From college to the pros, however, Siemian’s injury history is as much cause for pause as Romo’s medical chart. As a first-round draft choice, Lynch needs to find out if he’s qualified to be Denver’s starting QB for a decade. In his rookie year, Lynch also rudely discovered talent isn’t enough without dedication to the small details.
Siemian and Lynch are competitors, not cohorts. To the winner will go the spoils. And the loser needs to get out of Denver, with a chance to prove himself in another NFL city.
The next coach in Denver has to pick between Lynch and Siemian. Until the decision is definitive and final, a quarterback controversy will be cause for constant bickering in every corner of apountry.
