ELWAY: “WE GOT OUR GUY”
Case closed: Elway, Broncos thrilled to pass their QB baton to Keenum
Kirk Cousins was the unequivocal jewel of this year’s free-agent quarterback class in just about everyone’s mind but John Elway’s. “We got our guy,” the Broncos GM said at Case Keenum’s introductory news conference.
Growing up in Texas, Case Keenum went against the grain and had a John Elway poster hanging in his bedroom. The image is of Elway, donning his all-blue Broncos uniform and in position to throw. Time stamps in the background count down from two minutes to the last second, and the words “it’s never over” are stamped across the front.
Elway, the king of the fourthquarter comebacks, was the childhood idol of the player who recently pulled off one of the NFL’s most thrilling finales in playoff history, as quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings last season.
“That’s why I always wore No. 7,” Keenum said. “As a kid growing up, a coach’s kid, wanting to play quarterback. It was Elway and the Broncos and (Troy) Aikman and the Cowboys. That was a big part of my childhood.”
Keenum’s childhood dream became reality when he signed a two-year, $36 million contract with the Broncos and, on Friday, was introduced by Elway as Denver’s new starting quarterback. Keenum won’t get to don his No. 7 — Elway will hold on to that — but No. 4 will do just fine.
“Just getting introduced by John Elway as the Denver Broncos‘ quarterback,” Keenum said, “that is a dream come true. … I’m excited to get in the locker room. I’m excited to earn the right to be a leader. I’m excited to be the quarterback of the Denver Broncos.”
In the months leading up to free agency, the league’s focus was primarily on one guy who most believed would dictate the market for quarterbacks behind him. Kirk Cousins was on the move, and as a 28-year-old, injury-free quarterback, he was bound to be chased by numerous suitors.
The Broncos set their sights elsewhere though, thanks in part to the intel received from coach Vance Joseph and senior personnel adviser Gary Kubiak. They worked with Keenum in Houston when he was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2012, and they knew the player he was, the guy he was and the quarterback he could be for the Broncos.
“We talked about after the season that we needed to upgrade at