Broncos Waive QB Joe Flacco with Failed Physical Designation

We knew this move was coming.

The Denver Broncos officially bit the bullet on Thursday, parting ways with veteran quarterback Joe Flacco.

Broncos just informed former Super-Bowl MVP Joe Flacco that he is being waived with a failed physical designation, per source.

Flacco now joins a group of free-agent QBs looking for work.

Three Super Bowl MVPs in headlines this week: Flacco waived, Foles traded, TB to TB.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 19, 2020

The team has since confirmed the move. The 'failed physical designation' adds a complexity to this move. Here's what it means per our Bob Morris.

Long story short: The waived with failed physical designation means the Broncos don't have to pay Flacco an injury settlement. Also, I believe the cap hit is immediate. No post-June 1 option here AFAIK. So treat it the same way as a straight cut.

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That means the $10.05M in cap savings can be immediately realized and utilized by the Broncos. Based on our estimations, that grows Denver's cap space to somewhere around $23M.

Flacco suffered a neck injury early last season and following the Broncos' Week 8 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, he was placed on season-ending injured reserve. A report broke about a month back that the Broncos believed Flacco would be 'healthy enough to play' in 2020.

Play, yes. As a Bronco? Nope.

This is now officially Drew Lock's team. The Broncos gave up a fourth-round pick to acquire Flacco a year ago and the returns were impotent.

Flacco's vanilla leadership style, poor pocket awareness and lack of mobility practically paralyzed the Broncos' offense. The contrast was apparent when Brandon Allen took over in Week 9, a quarterback not exactly possessing Lamar Jackson-esque athleticism, but who made the pocket statue Flacco seem all the older and immobile.

Lock entered the picture as the starter in Week 13 and would lead the Broncos to a 4-1 finish. The rest is history.

Flacco is now free to negotiate with teams. But something tells me this won't be the last the Broncos hear from Flacco. It wouldn't surprise me if he disputes the designation the team used to waive him in order to avoid paying an injury settlement.

Time will tell.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.