Denver Post Broncos writer Parker Gabriel posts his Broncos Mailbag weekly during the season. Submit questions to Parker here.
Do you think (or wish) the Broncos had picked Baker Mayfield off the waiver wire?
— Bill, Littleton
Letap get this thing started. Back-to-back Baker Mayfield questions to lead it off? All right!
Several outlets reported that the Rams were the only team that put a claim in on Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 draft. Denver was third in the waiver order and the Rams were fourth, so the Broncos could have had him if they wanted. They would have had to pick up the approximately $1.3 million salary he has remaining this year.
Itap not my place to care what moves the franchise does or doesn’t make, though it certainly would have been interesting. As for the other part of the question, they did not put in a claim. If they had, he’d be in Denver.
Why didn’t the Broncos claim Baker Mayfield off waivers? A cheap salary for the remainder of 2022 and legitimate competition to Russ. Would probably have resulted in Brett Rypien moving out of the 53-man roster, but is he really even a viable backup given the current situation?
— Brenton, Melbourne, Australia
Australia in the house! Thanks for writing, Brenton.
Color me skeptical that Mayfield would have presented legitimate competition for Wilson this year – funny thing to say after Mayfield led that touchdown drive after just two days in the building, but the Rams didn’t have other options and the Broncos certainly wouldn’t bench an available franchise quarterback for him. Obviously, they couldn’t have foreseen Wilson suffering a concussion Sunday against Kansas City.
Moreover, they’ve got the offseason to figure out if they’re going to roll with Brett Rypien as the No. 2, find another candidate for that job, opt for a veteran backup, go with youth, scan the waiver wire, etc. The old Ron Wolf school of roster management says you should draft a quarterback every year and maybe George Paton takes one late in the draft.
Denver’s out of the playoff picture and doesn’t have a young developmental quarterback to play, so if Wilson misses time with his concussion, we’ll find out more about Rypien in the coming days/weeks.
Hey Parker, do you see the Broncos shutting down Russell Wilson for the rest of the year? A concussion’s no joke and he did not look good after that hit.
And let’s say he is out for the season, what’s our situation at quarterback? Are we running with Brett Rypien and this Jarrett Guarantano guy on our practice squad? Are we looking for a free-agent signing? Do we call up Paxton Lynch? I kinda feel like we’ve seen Rypien’s ceiling.
— Mark, Arvada
Hey Mark,
On Monday I asked Hackett that very question, if Denver would consider shutting Wilson down even if he was cleared to return. He didn’t commit either way, saying they’d wait and see how he worked through the concussion protocol and continually communicate with Wilson and the medical professionals involved. Itap certainly a situation to monitor. I can see Wilson wanting to play again if he’s cleared and really feels good, but as you suggested, there is no reason to rush him back to the field in any capacity with Denver at 3-10.
Denver could well look for a third quarterback if Wilson is going to miss extensive time, but Guarantano, who joined the practice squad recently, can be elevated up to three times. The Broncos only have four games remaining. But yes, they are going to have to make sure they’re covered there if Wilson is going to miss time.
Hi Parker, As one ponders coaching changes next year for the Broncos, do you think Mike Shanahan might be a sleeper candidate to be coach again, knowing he was close to coming back to the Broncos in 2019?
— Kevin Schafer, Minneapolis
Dare to dream, Kevin. Magic 8-ball says: Extremely unlikely.
Everyone is throwing Russell Wilson under the bus for his poor performance. But to me, this offensive team was built to fail. If you compare the experience and success in the NFL of this offense to the players on the 2015 Super Bowl team, there’s no comparison. Other than Wilson, no one has the experience and success of anyone on that team. Take Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy and compare them to Damarius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. Say all you want about potential and athletic ability, but there’s nothing better than actual production in the NFL. DT and ES produced week-in and week-out. Run down the entire offensive starters and the only player I’d take on the current team over that team was Javonte Williams (now injured) over Ronnie Hillman. To me, this throws our GM under the bus. Keep Wilson and give him some producers. It’s hard to produce in a team game when you’re the only one who knows how to do it.
— Steve, Atlanta
Hey Steve,
I think two things are true at once: The Broncos — the first-year head coach and first-year quarterback in particular — probably overestimated exactly how good the skill group was going to be. They didn’t catch any breaks with Tim Patrick getting injured early in camp and Greg Dulcich — seems like he’s going to be pretty good — missing the first five weeks.
Javonte Williams’ injury really hindered the offense, too. No team stays entirely healthy through a season, but every preferred starter on Denver’s offense now has missed at least one game this year.
They do need more speed at receiver and at running back. Expect those positions, along with tackle and edge, to be near the top of Denver’s wish list in the draft this spring.
Hi Parker, I have to question your grading of the defense against the Ravens. You gave them a D with the justification that they gave up the game-winning drive to a backup QB. Let’s just start with saying they gave up 10 points on the road against a likely playoff team. As for the final drive, Baltimore had the benefit of playing with four downs the entire drive. That makes getting a stop much more difficult. They gave up 285 total yards, had sacks and two interceptions. In hindsight, would you still give them a D? Thanks.
— Brandon Brown, Rogers, Minn.
Brandon, all grades are final and will not be revisited. See you next semester.
Actually, it was perhaps a tough grade in hindsight, but it doesn’t really matter how good the Ravens are or aren’t. They’re a run-dominant team playing a backup quarterback and they still went 91 yards in 16 plays to win the game. You just cannot be considered an elite defense and give a touchdown up in that situation. It is perhaps grading against the unitap own high standard.
Funny story: I convinced a professor to change a grade on a paper once in college. She acknowledged she’d graded mine first and set too rigid a framework before reading others. But she refused to bump my grade up past my brother, who was also in the class. You win some, you lose some, right?
Looking like George Paton is going to sit on Nathaniel Hackett at least until the end of the season! Can’t be the money! Offense is a mess! If they do let him go, whatap your plan for next year?
— Jim Inhelder, Aurora
My plan for next year is to cover whoever’s here and provide folks like you with the best coverage possible.
Snark aside, Jim, letap see how the next few weeks go. If there’s a change, there will be a lot made about the last four coaches all being first-timers. Experience is valuable, of course, but more than whether somebody’s been a head coach previously, the Broncos just have to find the right person. Whether thatap Hackett or somebody else is a call Paton and company will have to make in the next few weeks.
