ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Free agency has been officially open for all of one day and in those first 24 hours or so, the Denver Broncos did answer a question or two about their quarterback situation, but also left a question or two unanswered.
What they answered
Kirk Cousins was not their guy: Or at least Cousins was not the guy in their budget. The Broncos made the decision to get Case Keenum, a player they believe fits their offensive plan as well as Cousins, or maybe even a little better -- for $48 million less. Some will call it cheap, some will call it simply taking their fallback plan, but if the Broncos get the Keenum of 2017 and the light has really gone on for the 30-year-old, they will get far better value and win games. If they don't get the Keenum of 2017, or better, they won't even get what they paid for.
Gary Kubiak's opinion matters: Kubiak, who has an expanded role in the Broncos' personnel department this year, coached Keenum in Houston. It's telling that when the Broncos emerged from weeks of evaluation on the available quarterbacks, Keenum is the one the Broncos (quickly) signed. It's also an indication the offense John Elway ran in his final years as a player, when Kubiak was the Broncos' offensive coordinator, is an offense they still very much believe in.
Good teams think Trevor Siemian has a future: At last check the Minnesota Vikings played in the NFC Championship Game this past January. And at last check their new offensive coordinator -- John DeFilippo -- is one of the most respected quarterback gurus in the league given his work with Carson Wentz and Nick Foles with the Eagles last season. They are just the latest items on his very polished résumé. And the Vikings traded for Siemian to back up Cousins. Others had interest in Siemian, who can get to work on rebuilding his game after being benched following a pile of turnovers in the ill-fated offense the Broncos sported for much of the 2017 season. That and protection issues led to shoulder surgeries in back-to-back offseasons for Siemian.
What they didn't answer
Is Paxton Lynch the backup or what? Maybe the Broncos don't officially answer that until they make their first-round selection in the April draft. But even as Keenum's deal became official, Denver's decision-makers were still in Norman, Oklahoma, watching Baker Mayfield work and were scheduled to be at UCLA on Thursday to see Josh Rosen throw at his pro day. They keep saying they believe in Lynch and then keep looking at other quarterbacks. To make Lynch the backup, the Broncos would have to believe he would put in the work during the week even if he weren't getting the practice reps and didn't have the carrot of starting the next game. They'd also have to believe he's still going to grow as a quarterback. But if the No. 5 pick in April is a quarterback, it's difficult to believe the Broncos would have a No. 1 pick as the new backup and a former No. 1 pick (Lynch) as the No. 3.
Do they still like a QB at No. 5? To have a top-five pick in a quarterback-rich draft and not select a quarterback is to tempt fate a bit. Just ask the Browns, who passed on Wentz and Deshaun Watson. But you can't take a quarterback just to take a quarterback, either. If you're going to use a top-five pick on a quarterback, you better love the guy, as in l-o-v-e the guy as your new face of the franchise. If the No. 5 pick comes and the quarterback they love is gone, the Broncos need to resist the temptation to trade down and instead take one of the draft's blue-chip players still on the board. Talent wins games and some of the best talent on the board will still be available at No. 5.
The long-term plan: Elway said he wants a long-term solution at quarterback and Keenum's deal is for two years. That's not long term for most anything other than a fruit fly. It means the overall plan is still a question mark, at least until Elway and the Broncos offer a little more insight as to what they believe the future might look like.