3 Implications from Broncos Choosing Teddy Bridgewater Over Drew Lock

Everyone has an opinion on the announcement that Teddy Bridgewater will be the Week 1 starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos. But regardless of one's take on the move, it raises implications for the Broncos in other aspects.

These implications reach beyond which players on the offense are going to stand out or how they may be utilized. They're about the direction that the Broncos will not only take this season, but in years to come.

Here are three significant implications that will come as a result of the coaching staff's decision to go with Bridgewater as the starter.

1. Drew Lock's Time in Denver Nearing its End

To open the regular season, it's common to see a rookie sit behind a veteran, only to later take over the QB1 job in the not-too-distant future. However, that's not comparable to a young QB with plenty of starts under his belt losing his job to a veteran.

In such scenarios, the team has signaled openly that it would rather go with a veteran than give one final chance to a young signal-caller who has struggled but still has potential. And in this case, the young QB named Lock hasn't started a regular-season game yet this season.

Marcus Mariota, for example, got his final chance to prove himself back in 2019 with multiple regular-season starts before he was ultimately found wanting and benched for Ryan Tannehill. While Mariota's situation and Lock's aren't comparable in every aspect, they are in this sense: once the Tennessee Titans decided to pull the plug on a young QB with multiple starts, they telegraphed their intention of not moving forward with him as The Guy.

Even if Bridgewater gets injured or pulled late in the season, if the Broncos were out of the playoff hunt, Lock's time with the Broncos is still nearing its end. Lock may stick around as the backup this season, but there's no guarantee he'll be kept in 2022.

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2. Vic Fangio & Pat Shurmur Officially on the Hot Seat

There had been buzz throughout the offseason that Fangio might be coaching for his job in 2021, and the same could be said for Shurmur as offensive coordinator.

But if there was doubt a few months back about that, there's none now: Fangio and Shurmur are on the clock.

While doing good things with the defense, Fangio has had issues with game management, mostly with handling the clock and time-outs. Bottom line, he's failed to win as a head coach.

Shurmur hasn't always called plays to his quarterback's strengths — it took him a while before he used more play-action to suit Lock last season, for example. Certainly, the expectation going into the season was that the Broncos could reasonably finish at least 10-7, which could put them in the playoffs. Now, those expectations rise above to a necessity.

9-8 won't cut it on a 17-game schedule, particularly with so many quality teams in the AFC. 10-7 isn't guaranteed a playoff trip, but it may be enough to save Fangio and Shurmur. But if the Broncos don't win at least 10 games this season, these coaches won't be back.

Fangio and company have made their QB decision, and now it's up to them to show they made the correct call.

3. Broncos Will be in the QB Market in 2022

Bridgewater will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. Again, the odds say Lock isn't going to get another chance to prove to the Broncos that he can be The Guy. That ship sailed on Wednesday.

That means the Broncos will have to be thinking about quarterback options next year. The QB search may depend on what happens in 2021.

If Bridgewater plays at a high level, the Broncos could place the franchise tag on him and let him play under it for one season to see if he can duplicate it. Or, if the team feels that comfortable with him, it could give him a short-term extension.

The QBs expected to be available in the 2022 NFL draft aren't that appealing, at least based on what we've seen to date. However, if the Broncos see somebody they identify as their guy, they could certainly target that player.

And then there's the veteran trade market. While there's no guarantee the names tossed around this past offseason will suddenly become available, a couple vets made it clear they want to see a commitment from their current teams or else. Such a veteran still unhappy with his situation in 2022 may become available.

Time will tell how this plays out, but it's something general manager George Paton will have to keep in the back of his mind.

Follow Bob on Twitter @BobMorrisSports.

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