Here at 1220 Harbor Bay Parkway, the focus the last few weeks has been on preparing for the NFL Scouting Combine, and then the NFL Draft.
Meanwhile in the Mile High City, the Denver Broncos have spent their offseason putting together a new coaching staff and now acquiring a new starting quarterback. ESPN's Adam Schefter broke the news Wednesday that the Baltimore Ravens had agreed in principle to trade Joe Flacco to the Broncos – the terms of the agreement are unknown at this time.
Since Peyton Manning retired, Broncos President of Football Operations John Elway has had a difficult time nailing down a franchise quarterback for the team. We all know how the Trevor Siemian project went, the Paxton Lynch project wasn't much of a project to begin with, and Case Keenum struggled in his first season as the team's signal-caller, which brings us to Joe Flacco. The trade won't officially be processed until the start of the new league year on March 13, but I think it's safe to assume that Flacco is a Bronco – I don't see this turning into a Lakers-Chris Paul trade situation… curse you, David Stern.
The trade is perplexing, though, considering Keenum and Flacco have eerily similar stats over the last three years; take a look.
Twitter hasn't been kind to the Broncos this morning, and there are reports that the team will consider shopping Case Keenum. It was assumed that the team would target a quarterback in the Draft, and it's possible they still do, but this is a curveball many people probably didn't see coming – myself included. John Elway hasn't had the best track record when acquiring QBs for the Broncos, Manning aside. If the team is unable to move Keenum, the quarterback battle in Denver should be… good?
The addition of Flacco comes just weeks after the team hired former Chicago Bears Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio as their head coach. No doubt the Broncos still have plenty of talented players on defense, but improving the offense will be Fangio's biggest task.
In other news:
You may have seen this viral video a week ago of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes hooping at a local gym:
In the days following the video being posted, the Chiefs informed their fans that Mahomes would no longer be allowed to participate in pickup games. I understand what the Chiefs are trying to do since the man just won MVP, but let the guy hoop.
