Where Washington Football Team ranks in Matthew Stafford sweepstakes

5. Denver Broncos

Vic Fangio survived last season for the Broncos, but his seat is officially warm. The third-year coach did the best he could in 2020 amid numerous injuries at the quarterback position, but he’ll have to deliver in 2021 in order to secure his job for another year.

As such, the Broncos will likely be aggressive this offseason. They have a solid core, and on offense, all they’re really missing is the final piece at quarterback. Obviously, Stafford would be an upgrade over what they have in Drew Lock, and the team’s brain trust could point to the impact that Peyton Manning had during his time with the team as a reason to get another veteran in Stafford.

Manning was, of course, a Hall of Famer, but Stafford is still an upgrade for the Broncos and could be a good mentor to Lock. Stafford would be able to take advantage of the solid offensive weapons the Broncos already have in Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler, Tim Patrick, Noah Fant, Melvin Gordon, and Albert Okwugebunam. And his protection would be solid too, thanks to the moves that Denver has made on the offensive line.

The Broncos have a solid-enough defense as well and Fangio would be able to do well with Stafford coming in and avoiding the copious turnovers his offense put forth last year. That could be enough to vault them into Wild Card consideration, even in a tough division.

So, what’s the issue with the Broncos? Well, they have some key free-agent decisions coming up and they are a bit low on cap space. They could easily create some, but they may decide to ride things out with Lock again or use the No. 9 overall pick on a potential replacement if they’re not confident in Lock’s ability.

Meanwhile, on Stafford’s side, he may balk at a potential trade to the Broncos if he doesn’t view them as true contenders. That may not matter much in the end since he doesn’t have a no-trade clause, but if he and the Lions collaborate on this decision, the Broncos are probably lower on the totem pole than some other available options.