Broncos To Shop QB Case Keenum
No surprise here, but the Broncos are now set to shop quarterback Case Keenum, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Keenum, of course, was displaced from the starting role after the Broncos agreed to acquire Joe Flacco from the Ravens on Wednesday morning. 
[RELATED: Broncos Acquire Joe Flacco From Ravens]
Keenum is guaranteed $7MM in 2019, so the Broncos see only two options for him if they cannot find a trade: Keenum will either have to accept a massive pay cut to serve as Flacco’s backup, or he’ll be released outright.
Keenum flopped in his lone season as the Broncos’ starter, finishing 31st in Total QBR, 29th in DYAR, and 28th in quarterback DVOA. It was a sharp contract from the 2017 season in which he led the NFL in DVOA as the top signal caller for the Vikings.
In that ’17 season, Keenum ranked seventh in passer rating and ninth in adjusted net yards per completion. The QB no longer profiles as an above-average starting option, but he would be highly coveted as a backup by many NFL teams.
Ravens To Trade Joe Flacco To Broncos
The Joe Flacco era is effectively over in Baltimore. The Ravens agreed to trade the quarterback to the Broncos, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). The Ravens will receive a fourth-round pick in return, Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets. Denver will send the selection it acquired in the Demaryius Thomas trade (No. 23 in the round) to Baltimore.
Technically, the trade cannot be processed until the new league year begins on Wednesday, March 13, but the two sides have a deal in principle. The Ravens will absorb a $16MM dead money hit from the trade and, as expected, move forward with Lamar Jackson as their top QB. Meanwhile, they’ll save roughly $10MM against the cap in 2019, enabling them to strengthen the rest of the offense by landing a playmaker or two in free agency.
The Broncos have yet to speak with Flacco about his contract, but they do not anticipate any issues if they keep his salary of $18.5MM unchanged for 2019, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com hears (on Twitter). Effectively, he’d move forward under a prove-it deal that the Broncos can either move on from in 2020 or re-work.
New Broncos head coach Vic Fangio spent a season in Baltimore, so he has some familiarity with the 34-year-old. Former Broncos executive Gary Kubiak was also a champion of Flacco, which may have influenced GM John Elway‘s decision to trade for him.
The Broncos signed Case Keenum to a lucrative contract last offseason, but the arrival of Flacco could put him out of work. Keenum has one year to go on his two-year, $36MM pact, but the Broncos can shed the deal if they are willing to take a $10MM dead money hit.
Flacco was overshadowed by Jackson last season, but he still more-than-serviceable in his nine games. The veteran signal-caller completed 61.2% of his passes for 2,465 yards, 12 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Coach John Harbaugh was also very complimentary of his skills.
“Joe Flacco is going to play really well in this league. Joe can still play — I think we saw that the first half of the season,” Harbaugh said in January. “Joe’s going to have a market. There’s going to be a lot of teams that are going to want Joe because they understand that. I’ll be in Joe’s corner wherever he’s at. He’s special. Joe Flacco is a great talent; he’s an even better person. He’s the best QB in the history of the Ravens without question…He’s going to do just fine.”
The Flacco deal will have ramifications elsewhere as one QB-needy team is no longer in the Nick Foles sweepstakes. The Giants, Dolphins, Jaguars, Redskins, and the incumbent Eagles all figure to kick the tires on Foles, but the Broncos are almost certainly out of the picture.
Broncos Notes: Paradis, Keenum, Foles, Staff
One of the NFL’s top centers over the past four years, Matt Paradis is a month away from free agency. The four-season Broncos starter continues to rehab a broken fibula sustained in November, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets Paradis is ahead of schedule. Prior to going down midway through this season, Paradis had not missed a snap since debuting in the Denver starting lineup at the 2015 season’s outset. He is probably the Broncos’ top in-house priority, with the Bradley Roby–Shaquil Barrett–Shane Ray defensive troika likely set to depart. But Paradis is believed to want to test the market rather than re-signing to stay in Denver before hearing other teams’ pitches. If the 29-year-old snapper does hit free agency, there is a reasonable chance he will become the NFL’s highest-paid center. Ryan Jensen, a free agent last year who struggled in 2018, holds that distinction presently with a $10.5MM-per-year deal.
Here is the latest from Denver:
- Case Keenum‘s first Broncos season did not do much to dispatch the notion his Vikings emergence was a fluke. He finished 31st in Total QBR, 29th in DYAR and 28th in quarterback DVOA. Keenum led the NFL in DVOA in 2017. But the $10MM dead-money hit the Broncos would take if they jettisoned their 2018 starter, coupled with the team’s hope Keenum can improve under new OC Rich Scangarello, points to the 30-year-old passer having a decent chance at sticking around for 2019, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Keenum is on the Broncos’ books at $21MM for next season.
- John Elway going after another veteran, thus further delaying a long-term plan the Broncos whiffed on with Paxton Lynch, would not be out of character given the GM’s stance on rebuilding. If the Eagles do not follow through on franchise-tagging Nick Foles, whom the Broncos bypassed in the 2012 second round to select Brock Osweiler, Jhabvala can envision Elway considering the Super Bowl LII MVP to replace Keenum. The Broncos would obviously run the risk of gambling on one system-dependent quarterback to potentially doing the same thing a year later, but if they do not have to surrender a third-round pick to the Eagles, it would make more sense than giving up assets and Keenum dead money for Foles. The Jaguars’ situation and John DeFilippo hire make them a more logical Foles destination, but the Broncos hold far more cap space.
- Denver passed on double-dipping in quarterback investments last year. After signing Keenum, they selected Bradley Chubb over Josh Allen and Josh Rosen. But Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com’s bold prediction is the Broncos both signing a UFA passer and using a high pick to bring in a rookie. This scenario would lead to an astounding number of Broncos quarterback solutions conjured up post-Peyton Manning.
- The Broncos added a pair of entry-level coaches recently, appointing Justin Rascati and Mike Hiestand to their staff as offensive and defensive quality control coaches, respectively, Jhabvala tweets.
Broncos Expected To Be Active In FA
- Rumors are circulating about Gruden and Mayock bringing in their own quarterback, with Peter King of NBC Sports writing “lots” of suspicion has arisen about the Raiders drafting a passer in the first round. This prospective move would not be accompanied by a Derek Carr trade, per King, who adds an NFL exec said the team may be tempted by the Chiefs’ draft-and-wait model they used with Patrick Mahomes. Of course, Alex Smith was 33 during Mahomes’ rookie season; Carr will turn 28 this year. That would not make for a smooth setup. Additionally, the Raiders’ first-round picks acquired via trade sit at Nos. 24 and 27. Several potential quarterback-seeking teams pick ahead of them, with the Giants (No. 6), Jaguars (7), Broncos (10), Dolphins (13, though they are eyeing the 2020 QB class) and Redskins (15) stationed in the first round’s top half. It would be a bit odd if the Raiders gave up assets to replace Carr, and King is hearing buzz about it even taking a top-10 pick to select Kyler Murray (if he ends up in the draft).
- The Broncos‘ $41MM-plus in cap space places them in the upper middle class this offseason, but they have a few possible cuts they can make to increase that figure. Coming off back-to-back losing seasons for the first time in 46 years, the Broncos are expected to be active in free agency, ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold notes (on Twitter). Denver needs help at cornerback, on the offensive line and at tight end, to name three spots. The Broncos have several notable UFAs, but so far, Matt Paradis has been the only higher-end UFA mentioned as a player the franchise would like to retain. Bradley Roby, Shane Ray and Shaquil Barrett, the latter eyeing a starting role he cannot obtain in Denver, are expected to depart.
- The Broncos hired the grandson of former Colorado coach Bill McCartney to be their quarterbacks coach, and they are adding former Stanford, Notre Dame and Washington HC Tyrone Willingham‘s son, Nathaniel Willingham, to serve as their defensive quality control coach, Mike Klis of 9News notes. The younger Willingham spent the past four seasons as a Stanford coach.
Broncos Hire Quarterbacks Coach
A few pipelines have led to the Broncos this offseason. Following’s Ed Donatell Chicago-to-Denver move alongside Vic Fangio, another 49ers staffer will take a key job on the Broncos’ staff, joining new OC Rich Scangarello. T.C. McCartney, an offensive assistant with San Francisco, will become Denver’s new quarterbacks coach, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic tweets. McCartney interviewed on Tuesday, per Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter link), and represents a unique addition to the Broncos’ staff. The 29-year-old assistant is the grandson of former Colorado Buffaloes head coach Bill McCartney. It will be T.C. McCartney’s first NFL time as an NFL position coach.
But the latest pipeline to lead to the Denver staff is the most interesting. The Broncos will hire another former Wagner College assistant, with Rob Calabrese set to become a Broncos offensive assistant, per Klis. Scangarello and Calabrese worked together at the Division I-FCS, Staten Island, N.Y., program in 2016, with Calabrese succeeding Scangarello as Wagner’s OC and serving in that capacity for the past two seasons. (Fun fact: former Broncos defensive tackle Terrance Knighton is an assistant at Wagner.)
AFC Notes: Broncos, Lock, Texans, Colts, Vinatieri, Assistant Coaches
The 2019 NFL Draft is less than three months away, with the combine right around the corner. Draft buzz is starting to heat up, and one team in a particularly interesting situation is the Broncos. Denver has the tenth overall pick, and has been looking for a new franchise quarterback ever since Peyton Manning retired. While the team has Case Keenum under contract for one more year, it seems like there’s a very good chance the Broncos take a quarterback early yet again.
Adding fuel to that fire, Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post hears that Broncos GM John Elway is “smitten” with Missouri signal caller Drew Lock, and that Elway’s infatuation with the quarterback was “the worst-kept secret at the Senior Bowl.” Lock seems like a real possibility to go to the Broncos at ten, and could be the first quarterback taken if Dwayne Haskins slips a little bit. If the Broncos do draft a quarterback, they could get out of Keenum’s contract relatively easily, or choose to keep him on for one year as a bridge quarterback/mentor.
Here’s more from the AFC:
- The Texans made a front office move today, bringing in former Jets executive Clay Hampton to be their new director of football operations, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). McClain notes that Hampton was in the Jets’ front office for 17 years, working his way up from being a ball boy to become their director of football operations. McClain also writes that Hampton will report directly to GM Brian Gaine who worked for the Jets at the same time as Hampton.
- Adam Vinatieri officially signed on for a 24th season a few days ago, and now we have the details on his new contract with the Colts. Vinatieri signed a one-year $3.875MM deal, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Vinatieri turned 46 in December but showed no signs of slowing down this season, even though he did miss two kicks in Indianapolis’ divisional round playoff loss to the Chiefs.
- Speaking of the Colts, the team made a couple of new additions to Frank Reich’s staff today. They hired Jason Michael as their tight ends coach and Chris Strausser as their offensive line coach, the team announced in a tweet. The Colts’ offensive line had an amazing turn around in 2018, but they fired Dave DeGuglielmo after the season so Reich could bring in one of his own guys, and he apparently settled on Strausser, who was with the Broncos last season. Strausser reportedly was also drawing interest from the Browns.
Chris Harris Open To Broncos Extension
Chris Harris suffered a fractured fibula in early December but returned to play in Sunday’s Pro Bowl. He is open to parlaying that momentum into another Broncos contract.
Denver formed probably the NFL’s best cornerback trio from 2014-17, but the trade of Aqib Talib and Bradley Roby‘s likely free agency departure leave Harris the last remaining member of that group. The All-Pro slot defender has one season left on his contract and would be ready to discuss another Denver extension.
“Definitely open to an extension, whenever they call me,” Harris said, via Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post. “I’m 29 right now. But I have a lot of juice left. I’m not close to being done. I feel like I’m getting better.”
Although Harris has been attached to a team-friendly, five-year pact worth $42.5MM since the end of the 2014 season, he has been one of this decade’s premier cornerbacks. Pro Football Focus again graded him as a top-five corner this season. Following the injuries to Harris and Emmanuel Sanders in a three-day span, the Broncos finished 0-4 after mounting a midseason win streak.
With Harris taking a discount for his second contract, it would stand to reason he would want to be paid like a top-tier corner on his next deal. It will likely cost the Broncos eight figures annually to keep their longest-tenured defensive back long-term. Elway traded a 31-year-old Talib this past offseason but has not been averse to retaining older talent at this position. One of his first acts as GM was signing Champ Bailey to a second Broncos extension.
Having given Harris an incentive package in 2018 and not yet identifying surefire future starters, it would stand to reason the Broncos would be open to a Harris re-up. The Broncos may well lose their Nos. 2-3 corners this offseason, with Tramaine Brock‘s one-year deal having expired. Denver drafted Brendan Langley and Isaac Yiadom in the past two third rounds, but neither’s starter potential is certain. Langley was bumped back to the practice squad for much of this season; Yiadom played 263 snaps as a rookie.
Cornerback resides as one of the Broncos’ top needs. A boundary defender in base defenses but largely a slot cover man, Harris would prefer whomever the Broncos bring in have inside-defending capabilities. Though, his acumen in that area may make that unrealistic.
“Oh, yeah, if we can find somebody who can play in the slot and I can just match the No. 1 guy, I would love that,” Harris said. “That would be ideal for me. But we have to find that guy. It’s hard. We’ll see happen with Roby’s situation or see if we can find some other guys.”
Poll: Where Will Nick Foles Land?
The Eagles’ loss to the Saints in the divisional round started a countdown clock to what appears to be an inevitable divorce between the team and Nick Foles. The team still views Carson Wentz as its quarterback of the future, which means Foles will very likely be suiting up somewhere other than Philadelphia next season. Foles can pay a $2MM fee to essentially buy his free agency, but the team could then still franchise tag him and attempt to trade him. Whether it’s through free agency or in a trade, today we’ll be taking a look at his most likely destinations:
The Jaguars are widely seen as being a competent quarterback away from being a contender, and might be the most likely team to pursue a veteran quarterback this offseason. The team made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game last year, but regressed heavily in 2018 and finished the season 5-11. Jacksonville is looking to make the most out of the window that it has with their elite defense, and is a natural contender for Foles.
The team appears set to move on from Blake Bortles and Cody Kessler, and could have an entirely new quarterback room in 2019. If Foles were to be traded the Eagles would likely see the Jaguars as an appealing option, as they’re in a different conference and won’t play each other for another four years. On the other hand, the Jags’ cap situation isn’t the best, and they’d need to shed some salary to be able to offer what Foles is likely to be seeking. The Jaguars have the seventh overall pick in this year’s draft, and could use that to select a quarterback like Dwayne Haskins instead of pursuing a veteran.
Another AFC team that could be interested is the Dolphins. The team isn’t going to be bringing back Ryan Tannehill, and Foles could be a nice option as a bridge quarterback. Tannehill hasn’t been able to stay healthy the past few seasons, and this year wasn’t any exception as he missed five games with a shoulder injury. The team is looking to get younger, and they might want a capable veteran signal caller to help them transition.
With Tannehill’s salary off the books they’ll have plenty of money to offer him a deal, and Miami doesn’t have many other options for a starter next year. On the other hand, the Dolphins have signaled that they plan on going all in on tanking 2019, so they might not be interested in winning too many games with Foles. If the plan is to lose as many games as possible, it wouldn’t make much sense for them to give up draft assets for Foles if the Eagles do end up tagging him.
The Broncos already have a Foles-esque placeholder in Case Keenum, but there’s been some chatter that they might want to move on from Keenum this offseason. Denver could get out of Keenum’s contract fairly easily, and he has no ties to the new coaching staff led by Vic Fangio. If Fangio and his new offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello decide they don’t love Keenum, they could ask Broncos GM John Elway to look elsewhere.
Elway has aggressively pursued veteran quarterbacks in free agency in the past, most notably Peyton Manning a handful of years ago and Keenum last offseason, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s interested in Foles. Denver doesn’t appear to be rebuilding and thinks it has the pieces to win with the right quarterback, and Foles could be what they’re looking for.
A slightly more out of the box possibility is the Redskins. The Eagles would surely prefer he didn’t go to their division rival, but if they don’t tag him they might not have any say. It was reported earlier today that Washington was expecting Alex Smith to miss the entire 2019 season, so the Redskins will very likely be in the market for a quarterback.
The Redskins know him well, and Foles beat them easily in Week 17 this year. While the Eagles might do all they can to prevent it, this would certainly be the most entertaining scenario of all. Foles playing Wentz twice a year would be great, and it would be surprising if the Redskins don’t at least look into it.
So, what do you think? Where will Foles end up next season as he looks to continue his magic? Vote in PFR’s latest poll (link for app users) and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section!
Where Will Nick Foles End Up Next Season
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Jacksonville Jaguars 47% (1,842)
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Denver Broncos 18% (719)
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Washington Redskins 18% (702)
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Miami Dolphins 16% (629)
Total votes: 3,892
Domata Peko Wants To Stay In Denver
- Although Domata Peko‘s two seasons in Denver doubled as the Broncos‘ worst two-year stretch since the early 1970s, the veteran nose tackle rewarded the team’s modest investment. Again a free agent, Peko wants to continue his stay in Denver. “Of course I want to be back,” Peko said, via Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com. “I love it here, love these guys, you don’t know what they’re going to decide. But I feel good, like I can play.” The Broncos saw more improvement from Shelby Harris, an RFA who could be in line for a hefty raise. Harris could slide in and become Denver’s new starting nose, but Peko, at 34, may not cost too much to retain as a part-time player. Pro Football Focus slotted the longtime Bengals nose man as this year’s No. 42 interior defender.
- Conversely, the Broncos’ half-decade run with Bradley Roby is expected to end, per Legwold. Neither Roby nor 2015 first-rounder Shane Ray are expected back in Denver next season. The Broncos have a solid glut of impending UFAs, with Matt Paradis and Shaquil Barrett joining Peko, Roby and Ray. While the Broncos have Von Miller and Bradley Chubb residing as one of the NFL’s best pass-rushing duos, their formerly formidable cornerback corps will be incredibly thin without Roby. All-Pro Chris Harris is still under contract, but for just one more season.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/23/19
Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2019 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:
Denver Broncos