Thursday, March 15, 2018

Broncos Sign Case Keenum and Trade Aqib Talib in First Days of Free Agency

The Broncos started off very active when free agency kicked off this past week. They made a flurry of moves at the beginning and there are certainly more moves to come. Let's look at some of the moves and provide a little analysis.

1) Denver signed Case Keenum: After realizing that they were not going to get Kirk Cousins, the Broncos and John Elway turned their attention to Keenum. He got a 2 year deal worth $36 million and about $18 million per year. I'm fine with the deal as long as the Broncos draft a QB with their fifth pick in the first round of the draft this April. I think Keenum is an upgrade over Trevor Siemian, but let's be honest: He isn't a franchise level quarterback. Yes, he played well in Minnesota last year, but to expect him to come in and take the Broncos to another level is foolish. It will be good for the team to have a starter heading into the year, but they need to draft a QB high in the draft (Darnold, Rosen, Mayfield, or Allen) and then let Keenum groom that new kid next year.

2) Denver trades Aqib Talib to the Rams: It has been known for over a year that the Broncos were going to part ways with Talib this offseason. The combination of his age and salary made him expendable. They were able to trade him to the Rams for a fifth round pick in this year's draft, so at least they got something for him. I understand the move completely and this establishes Bradley Roby as the #2 corner, but the problem is that this move definitely hurts the defense this upcoming year. Losing Talib is not a good thing from a defensive standpoint. Give Talib credit: He had a great four year run as a Bronco. He was an all-time great player for Denver, and it will be hard to match his production.

3) Denver re-signs Todd Davis: The Broncos allowed Davis to test the market and he came back and re-signed with Denver. I'm not totally sold on Davis being a top-level linebacker but it is nice to keep him with Brandon Marshall. I think it is better to have Davis back then start looking for his replacement.

4) Virgil Green signs with the Chargers: Virgil Green had a nice run in Denver, but we knew his time was coming to an end. He never became the receiving threat that we thought he would become, and he diminished as a blocker the past couple of seasons. This move doesn't kill us offensively and it gives a guy like Jake Butt to really get a chance to step up in 2018.

5) Denver signed Tramaine Brock: This is a pretty good move by the Broncos. They sign Brock to be their nickel CB, and he had some success in the past-especially in San Francisco. Brock signed a one year "prove it" deal, and I think this could be a very good signing by John Elway. I like this move a lot.

6) Denver trades Trevor Siemian to Minnesota for a 2019 fifth round pick: Siemian gets shipped off in the QB overhaul, and it was probably the best move for both parties. Siemian is a backup QB in this league and we found that out after watching him start for Denver the past two seasons. Denver gets some value for Siemian as they clearly had decided to move on from him. I works out for both parties in this case.

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