Denver Broncos: How Should They Address Their Lack of Depth at Quarterback?

Other than the normal "Tebow-hoopla" over who he's eating dinner with, all the way to which celebrities he could possibly be dating, the big storyline over the past week in Bronco country were the words that Brady Quinn offered to GQ on the subject of Tim Tebow.

I don't need to re-post the quotes, as most of you have already read enough about the subject over the past week on Bleacher Report or have been shown the excerpts countless times on ESPN during SportsCenter.

The point of bringing the Quinn topic into this article is to cement the point that Quinn likely won't be brought back as a Bronco for 2012, regardless of what John Elway says. Fox and Elway have already iterated that they intend to bring two quarterbacks into the equation to compete with Tebow.

With Tebow and Adam Weber the only two quarterbacks under contract for the Broncos next season, do you really think Denver intends to keep Tebow and Weber, bring in two quarterbacks and then re-sign Quinn for a total of five quarterbacks going into training camp to likely compete for two or three quarterback spots on the 53-man roster?

Regardless of whether Quinn and Tebow are really still good friends after Quinn's comments were revealed last week, the point is, Quinn is expendable after not having taken a single snap in his two seasons in a Broncos uniform, and it's not worth it to keep an unproven quarterback as a backup considering the media might make a big deal out of Quinn/Tebow's relationship throughout the 2012 season.

Which brings me to the topic of the article. How should the Broncos address their lack of depth at quarterback?

By that, I mean, should they look towards free agency for a veteran quarterback to back up Tebow? Or should they look to the draft for a young and up-and-coming quarterback who could potentially supplant Tebow as the starter as time wears on if Tebow doesn't continue to improve?

Hell, they could even look to free agency for a quarterback such as David Garrard, Chad Henne or Vince Young, while also filling the other spot with a middle to late-round draft pick in the draft in April.

If you look at the litter of quarterbacks that would be plausibly available for the Broncos through free agency, according to Mike Klis of the Denver Post, the list doesn't look star-studded, but it does look solid.

On the list includes names such as Henne, Garrard, Shaun Hill and Jason Campbell.

Henne has a good amount of starting experience, having been the Dolphins starting quarterback from 2009 up until this past season, where a collarbone injury ended his season after just four games.

Henne has started 31 games in his career, going 13-18 in his NFL career. A second-round draft pick in 2008 who was expected to be the franchise quarterback for Miami heading into the next decade, Henne repeatedly floundered in late-game situations and quickly lost support of the Miami faithful after a disappointing sophomore campaign at quarterback that saw him regress from his first season as a starter, when he threw for more interceptions (19) than touchdowns (15).

Nonetheless, Henne still has a big arm, and considering he's just 26 years old and has two seasons worth of starting experience in the NFL, he wouldn't be a bad option to back up Tebow.

Garrard started numerous seasons for Jacksonville and has proven to be an adequate game manager that can lead a team to the playoffs, but his age (34) and injury history leave huge question marks.

Hill is the prototypical spot starter, having never really been a true starter in the NFL, but having started chunks of games for both San Francisco and Detroit over the past five seasons.

Campbell was having the best season of his career in Oakland before an injury ended his season. This led to Oakland trading a good amount of their future draft picks to acquire the previously-retired Carson Palmer. It's safe to say Campbell won't be back in Oakland in 2012.

Of the quarterbacks in the draft who are possible options for the Broncos, Kirk Cousins, Brock Osweiler and Brandon Weeden come to mind.

Denver likely won't spend any higher than a third-round draft pick on a quarterback in 2012.

If the Broncos want to build a solid depth chart at quarterback come 2012, it would be smart for Denver to sign a veteran quarterback through free agency to be Tebow's backup. In the process of doing that, the Broncos should also spend a mid to late-round draft pick on a quarterback as an insurance policy for Tebow.

By going this route, the Broncos assure themselves of an insurance policy in case Tebow or falters or gets injured this season. A player such as Hill or Henne could easily fill in for a few games considering the wealth of experience they have of being starting quarterbacks in the NFL.

On the other side of the equation, with a rookie quarterback who is a middle or late-round selection, you have a young quarterback that you can develop and nurture with no pressure on his back that could possibly be groomed to take over for Tebow in the future just in case the Broncos face a worst-case scenario of Tebow failing to progress as a quarterback.

If Tebow proves to be the franchise quarterback in 2012, you can always have a guy like Cousins or Osweiler remain as a backup throughout the years for the Broncos, much like Gary Kubiak did for Elway during the early part of John's career.

Regardless of which direction Denver heads into to fill their quarterback needs, one thing is certain: The Broncos need depth at quarterback.

Click here to view the original GQ article