When the Broncos traded a mid-round pick to the Ravens in exchange for Joe Flacco last offseason, they didn’t envision the quarterback’s 2019 season ending with a neck injury and losing record.
After Flacco went down with an injury, the team turned to Brandon Allen temporarily while rookie Drew Lock worked his way back from a thumb injury. Lock started the final five games of the season and went 4-1.
There’s little doubt that Lock will remain the starter in 2020 but there is some uncertainty about Flacco’s future. Broncos general manager John Elway was asked during his end-of-season press conference on Dec. 30 if Flacco will return for next season.
“We haven’t gotten into that yet, but we’ll look at that and see what’s best,” Elway said. “Obviously, we’re going to take some time [to make a decision]. This year we’ll do it a little bit different than we’ve done in the past. We’re going to wait for our own team evaluations for a month. We’re going to get away from it.
“The coaches will look at it. The personnel side will look at it, get together early February and really get a good objective view of what our team’s going to look like next year and what we need to do. I think that’s why we’ll take the time and evaluate everything. Obviously, Joe will be one of those that we’ll look at and we’ll see his situation.”
Denver could save more than $10 million by parting ways with Flacco, bringing its 2020 salary cap space close to $80 million. Given that Lock looks like the team’s QB of the future, Flacco’s time with the Broncos might be coming to an end soon.
Flacco was uncertain but optimistic about his future on Dec. 30.
“I have no idea [what will happen],” Flacco said. “Over the next little bit of time, I’ll have conversations with people within the organization to see what the plan is. Obviously, [I’m] not happy with the way the season went for me — just how unfortunate it was. I’m really just optimistic about the future and we’ll see what it holds.”
Flacco completed 65.3 percent of his passes for 1,822 yards with six touchdowns against five interceptions in eight games this offseason. The veteran quarterback will turn 35 years old on Jan. 16.
