John Elway and the Denver Broncos are in scramble mode as it relates to the quarterback position. Having struck out in the Brock Osweiler sweepstakes, the franchise is now turning its gaze towards Ryan Fitzpatrick should nothing happen on the Colin Kaepernick front, per Michael Silver of NFL Network.
While the Broncos try to close the Kaepernick trade, they're formulating backup plans. Have been in touch with agent for Ryan Fitzpatrick.
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) March 10, 2016
At this point, Fitzpatrick would not be a bad fallback option for Denver in light of nothing happening on the Kap/Robert Griffin III front.
Having passed for 31 touchdowns and 3,905 yards last year, he’d actually be giving the Broncos better production than they received last year, if he played at the same level in 2016.
The Jets have reportedly been rather unkind to Fitzpatrick, offering him backup money, which means he might be inclined to leave the city of New York for a job in Denver.
If he were to sign a deal with the Broncos, then the Harvard grad would have to be considered a short-term option and a bridge to the future. Elway had brought Osweiler into the organization with the purpose of having him take over when Peyton Manning retired, but obviously that didn’t happen, with the quarterback taking a job with the Houston Texans.
With Fitzpatrick on board, then the Broncos could target a rookie this year and/or next year in the draft to take over when Fitzpatrick leaves, instead.
It’s not exactly what the organization had in mind a few weeks ago, but worse outcomes could certainly be on the horizon.