Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Report: Broncos Not Interested in QB Philip Rivers, 'Moving Forward' With Drew Lock
I'm not sure why anyone felt like this needed to be addressed but at least 9NEWS' Mike Klis was willing to cover all the bases and put the kybosh on any Philip-Rivers-to-Denver talk. In all seriousness, fans should be grateful for the legwork Klis puts in as a true insider at Dove Valley.
According to Klis, Rivers will not be a potential target of the Broncos' this offseason, as the team is going all-in on Drew Lock as the quarterback.
Rivers spent the last 16 seasons with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers. However, he and the Chargers agreed to part ways, making him a free agent poised to negotiate with any interested suitor.
If this were the 2017 or 2018 Broncos, Rivers would likely be high on the list of targets for GM John Elway. Elway tried to repeat the magic he created with Peyton Manning from 2012-15 by adding a veteran transplant in almost each season post-Super Bowl 50.
From Mark Sanchez (2016) to rekindling things with Brock Osweiler (2017) to paying Case Keenum (2018) and acquiring Joe Flacco via trade (2019), Elway has shaken nearly every available bush in the recent past, hoping a viable veteran transplant QB would fall out. Alas, Elway's failure in this department proves the rule established by Manning; there is no such thing as a free-agent franchise quarterback.
Elway had to learn it the hard way and go about finding the future franchise QB of this team the old fashioned way. Lock was drafted by the Broncos high in the second round of last year's draft, and although he had to sit behind Flacco initially and spend 10 weeks on injured reserve, he eventually got his shot in Week 13.
Lock beat Rivers and the Chargers 23-20 and would go on to win three of the Broncos' final four games, finishing his rookie season 4-1 as a starter. To Elway and the Broncos, it was manna from Football heaven, signaling (hopefully) the end of the team's post-Super Bowl 50 wanderings in the QB desert.
Rivers recently moved his family to Florida and will likely look first to sign with a team located close to it. Meanwhile, the 2020 offseason is all about building that nest, as it were, around Lock.
The Broncos will enter free agency with $60 million in cap space and could increase that number by nearly $20M by parting ways with Flacco and declining the team option on the oft-injured OG Ronald Leary. Combined with the 12 projected draft picks the Broncos are expected to have, five of which are in the top-100, Elway will have more than enough ammunition to ensure that 2020 is a pivotal year in the turnaround of this franchise.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
