John Elway – the Hall of Fame quarterback himself – has been General Manager of the NFL’s Denver Broncos since 2011. He has taken his team to two Super Bowls in his time, one of those a win. However, Peyton Manning retiring following Super Bowl 50 left Elway and company with a shortage at quarterback.
Manning’s backup – Brock Osweiler – was expected to be the next man up, but he left in free agency to sign a big contract and was later labeled a bust. In last year’s draft, the Broncos selected a quarterback out of Memphis, Paxton Lynch, in the first round. Lynch did not win the quarterback competition as expected, and a relatively unknown quarterback, Trevor Siemian, took the reigns.
For a first year starter, Siemian had a solid year. He threw for 3400 yards and 18 scores to just 10 interceptions. With that said, the majority of Broncos fan did not feel him to be a true game-changer and still wanted to see the team draft another quarterback. They got their wish with the last pick in this year’s draft when Elway decided to pick up the long-troubled Chad Kelly from Ole Miss.
As many Crimson Tide fans will know, Kelly beat Alabama at Ole Miss in 2015 when his rebels came into Tuscaloosa and knocked of Jake Coker’s squad. He helped them to a 24-3 lead in Oxford last season, before Jalen Hurts rallied the team to a come-from-behind victory.
Chad Kelly could ultimately be the answer Elway is looking for at quarterback, but his maturity level has always been the thing holding him back. While they still hold one of the league’s best defenses, the management would be smart to go after a more seasoned quarterback. Enter A.J. McCarron.
A rumor swirled Wednesday morning stating that the former Alabama quarterback, and current Cincinnati Bengal, was to be traded to the Broncos by week one. McCarron, who started in place of the injured Andy Dalton in the 2015 playoffs, has thrown for 854 yards and six touchdowns at a 66.4% completion rate. John Elway took to twitter to discuss the rumors himself:
Rumor of us being interested in anyone other than the QBs we have is another example of irresponsible, fake news!!
— John Elway (@johnelway) August 9, 2017
The term ‘fake news’ has been met with a lot of criticism, as it has become a near catchphrase used by President Donald Trump.
Regardless, it makes sense that Elway would not want his own quarterbacks to feel they weren’t getting the best opportunity to compete. If they are to capitalize on their talented roster, however, it would come as no surprise to see them go after a more proven guy like A.J. McCarron.
Jake Weaver is a lead writer for TD Alabama Magazine and Bama Hoops Hype. You can contact him via phone at 205-612-5060, or on Twitter @JWeaver_TDALMag
