Going into the 2021 preseason, the Denver Broncos were caught in quarterback limbo again, facing the question of who their starter will be in week one at the New York Giants. While some fans are eager to get Drew Lock out on the field in Week 1, a former Broncos player disagrees with them.
On Team Teddy Bridgewater is former Denver linebacker Brandon Marshall. Marshall recently wedged himself into this debate with fans on Twitter, making his case for why the Broncos need to worry about winning now instead of hanging onto what management hopes Lock will be someday.
Marshall goes as far as comparing Bridgewater and Baker Mayfield. In short, Marshall feels that with all other things equal, Bridgewater is a better QB than Mayfield. That may be a bit of a stretch at this point. But I would have taken Bridgewater over Mayfield before he suffered that horrible knee injury five years ago.
Broncos head coach Vic Fangio had to make the right decision heading into the regular season. We now know that decision. Fangio’s coaching fate now rests firmly on Bridgewater’s shoulders.
The Broncos finished with a losing record in both of Fangio’s first two seasons in Denver. There may not be a year four if the team can’t show improvement from last season’s 5-11 record. That was worse than his first year, when the Broncos finished 7-9.
Fangio just took a leap of faith and bet his future on Bridgewater. Teddy is more than capable of leading a team and making sound decisions at QB. Though no one will place Bridgewater in the elite class of QB’s in the NFL, he is a solid starter who can produce wins on the field with the right amount of talent around him.
By choosing Bridgewater, the Broncos may have admitted to having missed on Lock. While the names are similar, Lock is no Andrew Luck. Now the Broncos can only hope he’s ready mentally if they need him to take snaps at some point in the season.
The Broncos play in a division where the top spot seems to be sewn up for the next decade already by the Kansas City Chiefs. For now, the Broncos are playing for second place and, at best, a wildcard spot in the playoffs. I hate to say it, but it feels like this same scenario will be playing out in Denver each preseason for the foreseeable future.
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