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NFL Rumors: Could The Denver Broncos Trade For New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees?

By Jason Fletcher
Published on: 11:03 PST, Aug 4, 2016

The Denver Broncos are the defending Super Bowl champions, but their chances of repeating aren’t as strong as they could be. Starting quarterback Peyton Manning ultimately decided to ride into the sunset after winning his second career championship, and backup Brock Osweiler surprised everyone and departed for the Houston Texans during free agency.

With both those guys out the door, the Broncos were left without a legitimate starting quarterback on the roster. That led general manager John Elway to look for other options during the offseason and he eventually landed Mark Sanchez in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, and then drafted Paxton Lynch with the No. 26 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

In addition to Lynch and Sanchez, the Broncos also have second-year pro Trevor Siemian to compete at quarterback during training camp. Siemian is a 6-foot-3, 220-pound quarterback from Northwestern who hasn’t thrown a pass in the NFL. The rest of the roster is built to compete for another championship this season, but the quarterback position leaves a lot to be desired.

During an appearance on The Herd on Fox Sports 1 earlier this week, radio show host Nick Wright threw out an idea that the majority of people passed off as prosperous. Wright suggested to show host Colin Cowherd that the Broncos should pick up the phone and call the New Orleans Saints to check on the availability of quarterback Drew Brees.

Wright’s argument is that Brees is entering the final year of his deal with the Saints, but the two sides have yet to enter into negotiations on an extension. Without a deal prior to the season, it would seem that the Saints are perfectly happy with letting Drew Brees’ contract expire following the 2016 season.

Some might suggest that the Saints could then just slap the franchise tag on Brees, but that would be highly unlikely because, as Wright explains, the cap hit would be astronomical. If the Saints don’t plan to keep Drew Brees around past this season and the Broncos were to call with an offer of two first-round picks, it would certainly put general manager Mickey Loomis and the Saints in an interesting spot.

The Saints aren’t going to win the Super Bowl this season, which makes holding onto Drew Brees in this hypothetical scenario a tough sell. New Orleans would be further ahead to trade Drew and continue to build towards the future, but it would also likely anger fans, as it would show them that the team is fine with not winning in 2016 and would be letting quite possibly the most important figure in franchise history leave town.

If Elway were somehow able to swing a deal for Drew Brees, even this close to the start of the season, the Broncos would instantly become the favorites to win Super Bowl 51. Denver possesses the best defense in the NFL, two stud receivers in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, and a decent offensive line and running game. With Drew slinging it around the field, the Broncos would be nearly unstoppable.

I’ll be the first to tell you that there’s almost zero chance of the Broncos actually pulling off a trade for Brees, but it’s interesting to consider. Drew would greatly improve the Broncos for 2016 while also giving Paxton Lynch a year to learn under one of the best to ever play the game. Adding Drew Brees would be a dream scenario for Elway and the Broncos, however unlikely it is to happen.

[Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images]

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