Joe Flacco and the curse of revolving stopgap measures at quarterback

Kansas City Chiefs fans know the plotline well as they watch the Denver Broncos import one new veteran after another at quarterback.

On Wednesday, the rest of the National Football League enjoyed a good laugh at John Elway’s expense.

When the Denver Broncos traded (unofficially because it’s not yet the new league year) for Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, the reaction was overwhelmingly negative and the jokes came early and often. Elway, the Broncos general manager, had agreed to send a fourth-round draft pick to Baltimore in exchange for Flacco, the Ravens’ longtime starter (and Super Bowl winner) at quarterback.

While the results on field are what matter most, the headlines tell the story of public response:

Joe Flacco Trade Another Ill-Conceived Move by John Elway to Chase Glory Days
Grading the Flacco trade: How did Denver get here? (Note: Denver was given a D+ grade)
Twitter Roasts Broncos’ John Elway After Agreeing To Trade For Joe Flacco

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There are lots of reasons to laugh about the deal on the surface. Flacco was just benched last year by the Ravens for Lamar Jackson and it was clear they were going to move on from him this offseason. Back and hip issues also don’t get better at the age of 34. Not only that, the overall metrics on Flacco’s productivity simply aren’t pretty. He’s a below average veteran with a pricey deal moving into his mid-thirties.

Side note: in the interest of being fair, there are some reasons why Broncos fans might like this deal, starting with the fact that John Elway is intent on changes at quarterback. Flacco has a stronger arm which forces defenses to spread a bit more, and if he’s motivated to prove his doubters wrong after being benched in Baltimore, the Broncos could enjoy the chip on Flacco’s shoulder.

For those of us in Chiefs Kingdom, the laughter was especially loud. It’s a lot of fun to see the Denver Broncos flounder at the game’s most important position, and it’s nice to know John Elway is still in charge. Other than his incredible sales pitch to Peyton Manning, Elway’s eye for quarterbacks has been a curse on the franchise: Brock Osweiler, Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, Chad Kelly, Osweiler (again), Case Keenum.

As Kansas City fans, however, the laughter was also different. It’s a knowing laugh, with every head nodding around the proverbial table knowing the futility of what the Denver Broncos are attempting—or at least what they seem to be trying. It’s the ole stopgap measure.

No one, including Elway himself, thinks of the future when he thinks of Joe Flacco. It’s all about the present and maybe—just maybe, if things go well—the very next year. Despite taking Paxton Lynch with a first round pick back in 2016, the Denver Broncos never once let him go. He started a total of four games in two years. That’s it. At some point when you make such an investment, you gotta live or die by your choices and trust your coaches to develop the talent you acquire. The Broncos never did any of that.

Instead, the Broncos turned to one stopgap measure after another. They hoped Brock Osweiler would be better the second time around. They hoped Trevor Siemian would simply protect the ball well enough to allow the defense to win games. They brought in Case Keenum on a two-year deal. Why? Because they knew he was a stopgap measure.

That last point alone is what would be so frustrating as a Broncos fan—that John Elway’s big idea to fix the most important position in the game was a crappy two-year deal on a hopeful veteran who needs a certain planetary alignment in order to be above average.

For Chiefs fans, we nod as we laugh because we know this revolving door all too well. Stopgap measures are all the Chiefs knew at quarterback before drafting Patrick Mahomes in the first round in 2017. Ever since Todd Blackledge failed as a first-round draftee, the Chiefs had resorted to fear-driven acquisitions, accepting one team’s castoff after another after another at quarterback of all positions. Matt Cassel, Tyler Thigpen, Damon Huard, Trent Green, Elvis Grbac, Rich Gannon, Steve Bono and even Joe Montana—all stopgaps with varied degrees of success.

Alex Smith was the ceiling of all stopgap measures, a best-case scenario of productivity, wins, and leadership. Even then, he was still a stopgap. Five years is the maximum any team is going with that sort of acquisition and it worked out beautifully for the Chiefs. It was the rarest of scenarios.

Watching the Broncos set up the same revolving door at quarterback is a lot of fun to watch. As the bitter rival, it’s nice to know they’re setting themselves up to fail in the present with no plan for the future. If a team wants to waste the best years of Von Miller and Chris Harris, that’s fine by us. In fact, if they want to go ahead and cash out their six or seven wins in 2019, we’ll give it to them now and save us all the trouble.

Maybe, just maybe, the Broncos will still pull the trigger on a draft day quarterback and bring home a Drew Lock to Mile High. If so, then it will be clear that Elway learned his lesson about stopgap measures and simply wanted a better veteran mentor than Keenum. But as long as Joe Flacco is tasked with taking snaps behind that porous offensive line in Denver, the rest of the Wets will be laughing all the way to the top of the standings.

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