The Broncos won the Super Bowl last season despite pretty mediocre quarterback play all year, which has apparently led John Elway and company to believe they don’t actually need a quarterback for 2016. Days after Peyton Manning officially announced his retirement, NFL Network’s Rand Getlin reported that former Broncos back-up Brock Osweiler has agreed to a deal with the Houston Texas.
I'm told QB Brock Osweiler has agreed to a deal in principle with the Houston #Texans.
— Rand Getlin (@RandGetlin) March 9, 2016
ESPN’s Adam Schefter says the deal will be worth a whopping $72 million over four years.
Texans are giving Brock Osweiler a 4-year, $72 million deal, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 9, 2016
Osweiler’s departure from Denver leaves the Broncos with a single quarterback, second-year man Trevor Siemian, who threw 27 touchdowns and 24 interceptions in four seasons at Northwestern. Siemian played one single snap last year, taking a knee before halftime when Osweiler and Manning were both hurt.
The Broncos can go a lot of directions from here. They’ve been rumored to have interest in former 49er Colin Kaepernick and according to Schefter, have some interest in Robert Griffin III.
With Brock Osweiler off to Houston, RGIII is on Broncos' list of replacement quarterbacks, per source. Could be visiting Denver.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 9, 2016
Frankly, it seems like Osweiler would have been a better option than either of those guys, but apparently Denver wasn’t willing to match the Texans’ extremely lucrative offer.
As for Houston, they’re now able to move past the Brian Hoyer era with a semi-exciting, semi-young quarterback. It’s not all that different from when they signed Matt Schaub, then Michael Vick’s longtime back-up, and that worked out kinda sorta well-ish.
The Texans also added running back Lamar Miller, which should help an offense that was middle-of-the-pack in rushing last season.
Former Miami RB Lamar Miller plans to sign with the Houston Texans, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 9, 2016
The 25-year old Osweiler, a second round pick of the Broncos in 2012, threw for 1,967 yards, ten touchdowns, and six interceptions over eight games (seven starts) in 2015. Prior to last season, he had attempted just 30 passes in his three years as Peyton Manning’s backup.
