With Brock Osweiler reportedly on his way to the Houston Texans, the Denver Broncos are shifting their interest to a few guys who were once considered the future of the league, Robert Griffin III and Colin Kaepernick.
Two players on the radar of the #Broncos now that Brock Osweiler is gone: RGIII and Colin Kaepernick.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2016
The Broncos are the kind of team that would make sense for both men. They’re a good organization, have good receivers, a decent offensive line and a solid rushing attack. If either man is going to revitalize his career, it’d be with a team like Denver.
Both men also deserve the benefit of the doubt. It’s true that our most recent memories of Griffin and Kaepernick are not particularly good, but they weren’t exactly in great situations, either.
RG3 was obviously hurt in 2013, and while that wasn’t an issue in 2014 the Washington Redskins didn’t seem to have a great sense of where they were going. Much of that did change in 2015, but by then, Griffin had been replaced by Kirk Cousins. Of the two, he’d be the easier, or at least, cleaner quarterback to acquire as a free agent.
Kaepernick is not a free agent. Still, the quarterback not only wants a trade, but he reportedly wants a trade to the Broncos.
The San Francisco 49ers have been a team in disarray since they parted ways with Jim Harbaugh. Kaepernick had his hand in their struggles, but it’s hard to imagine any quarterback would have been successful behind San Francisco’s offensive line and under the coaching of Jim Tomsula.
Both Griffin and Kaepernick deserve another chance to succeed. Remember, Griffin was the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012. Kaepernick led the 49ers to the NFC Championship that year and the following season, nearly beat the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle in the NFC Championship Game, virtually on his own. Griffin is 26 while Kaepernick is 28, so it’s difficult to believe that either man is just washed up in terms of talent.
In either case, the Broncos should have a backup plan in place in the form of a veteran quarterback that can challenge RG3 or Kaepernick. But with either man, they’d be likely buying low on a very talented quarterback.
Either Griffin or Kaepernick should be looking at a franchise like the Broncos, and the team would do well to be pursue either quarterback.