Joe Flacco’s 2019 campaign prematurely came to an end when he suffered a bulging disc in his neck midway through the season. Denver placed the veteran quarterback on injured reserve and a few weeks later, the Broncos inserted rookie Drew Lock into the starting lineup.
Lock played well and helped the team win four of their final five games. Lock is poised to remain the starter in 2020 and Denver has little reason to bring back Flacco and his $20.25 million base salary for next season.
So it was interesting to hear ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler report Tuesday that “the Broncos believe he should be able to play next season.” Denver obviously wants Flacco to make a full recovery, but why would the team leak that he’s getting healthy if they don’t plan to bring him back?
The Broncos might try to restructure Flacco’s contract and bring him back as a backup to Lock, or they might try to trade him. Getting the word out that he’s healthy could help Flacco’s trade value, although not by much.
Denver probably wouldn’t be able to fetch anything more than a late-round pick for Flacco but something is better than nothing. The team might end up cutting him, creating a net salary cap savings of $10.05 million in 2020.
Whether it’s via cut or trade, Flacco’s time with the Broncos will likely come to an end this offseason. Flacco turned 35 years old in January.
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