The Denver Broncos are no longer playing for a playoff spot. That ship set sail when the Buffalo Bills arrived in town and swept the Broncos with gusto.
If we’re being honest, that boat left port when the NFL set up strong weapons against the Broncos to play against the New Orleans Saints in Week 12 without a quarterback. But I digress.
As a team, the Broncos are simply playing for pride now. However, with two more games to go, there are a handful of players for whom these final two weeks are of unique importance.
The team’s leadership is using these two games, starting with the week 16 trip to face the Los Angeles Chargers, as a rating window for individual players – and coaches. Who is part of the Broncos’ plans in 2021 and beyond?
The answer to this question is dictated by the outline of the pedigree (for those still under contract in most cases) and the investment of the salary cap. But in some cases, there are guys playing and training whose post-2020 contractual situation is quite obscure.
So, starting with Sunday’s game against the Chargers, which Broncos are most under the gun? Let’s start.
Drew Lock | QB
Lock still has two years left on his post-2020 rookie contract, but if he wants to retain his starting position and leave no doubt in the minds of the big bosses, these glorified exhibition games are of crucial importance. The block cannot be just solid; he has to be always good and he has to win.
Lock has been under enormous pressure all year, but especially since his confusion over wearing the mask forced the Broncos to lose the Week 12 Saints game, which was the last thing he needed after his high season and down to that point. The Broncos’ chiefs have emphasized all week that Lock has to show consistency in these two final games and, if he doesn’t, the quarterback position could be shaken in 2021.
If he is consistently good, the Broncos will take a much less painful approach and move forward next year with Lock as the well-known defender. These two meaningless games to score the 2020 campaign are extremely important to Lock at the individual level and his long-term future in the NFL.
Lloyd Cushenberry | Ç
Cushenberry did not have an easy life, being asked to be the first day holder as a rookie center, without an off-season or pre-season training program, and with a significantly truncated training ground. Although the Broncos are saying good things about him, you can’t even say that Cushenberry’s rookie campaign was “up and down”. It is almost completely inactive.
Because of the Glasgow Glasgow contract albatross, the Broncos are stuck with him in 2021, but Netane Muti will be nipping at his heels and his game may require playing time in year 2. The Broncos could easily convince themselves to kick Glasgow for the center and connect Muti to the right guard next summer, which would put Cushenberry in the bank.
This makes these two final games crucial for the novice pivot, because the Broncos really like him, but there are forces out of his control that can influence the team’s bronze. The only thing he can control is his own game and he will have to do that against the Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders to end the season.
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Pat Shurmur | OC
The Broncos really don’t want to start again as an offensive coordinator. But Shurmur’s attack this year was statistically as bad, if not worse, than some of the garbage programs that predominated in this team’s post-Super Bowl 50 era.
Shurmur was supposed to drive Lock in Year 2 and provide the schematic springboard for a quantum leap. Instead, Shurmur presided over Lock’s regression. It is definitely not all Shurmur’s fault when it comes to Lock’s game, but the scheme has been terribly bad sometimes this year.
Depending on which other coaches will be available in the 2021 hiring cycle, the Broncos may be dazzled by the right newbies, like, say, a Kyle Shanahan protégé or a college student – like Joe Brady of LSU last year getting hired in Carolina – the bosses would not want to pass. It would be one thing if Shurmur’s offense was really in between.
But the Broncos are 25th or below in almost all offensive categories this year. Sorry, Pat. But the proof is in the pudding. Shurmur has to plan and train his rear in these last two games.
Shelby Harris | DL
Harris already won a bigger prize in 2021 than the NFL teams were willing to give him last spring. But losing a quarter of the season due to COVID-19 has completely undermined Harris’s season with all its momentum.
Whether he’s testing for a long-term contract with the Broncos or one of 31 other teams, these last two games are important to Harris. If he closes the year with two productive games in which he affected the passer, the teams may be willing to support the Brinks truck – including the Broncos.
DeMarcus Walker | DL
Walker is two weeks away from becoming an unrestricted free agent. The former runner-up in the state of Florida had a very high and low career start in his NFL career and fell at the home of more than one defensive Broncos player.
But the man plays when he is on the field. This cannot be denied. It just needs to be more consistent. If he closes the year with two productive games, some team that liked him as a potential player in 2017 will be encouraged to pay him, even if it’s a short-term deal.
De’Vante Bausby | CB
Except for a Deion Sanders-style performance in consecutive games, Bausby’s future in the NFL is unlikely to be in Denver. But there are other teams looking for help from a cornerback, especially one with Bausby’s ball skills and instincts.
He shone like a Bronco every time his number was called – until recently, when coaches had no choice but to trust him as corner No. 1. Suffice it to say that Stefon Diggs hammered out the conclusion that Bausby is not the caliber number 1, but that doesn’t make it irrelevant to the NFL.
NFL teams need three viable corners these days and if Bausby comes out and ends his 2020 campaign with a few games with an interception and some pass breaks, some GM out there will want to throw a few dollars at him.
Kareem Jackson | SS
Jackson will enter the final year of his contract in 2021. Although he is solid this year, he looked 32 years old for much of the season. He is still a physical presence in the area, but Jackson has often been late in coverage and has not affected the passing game as he did last year.
The cash-only safety devices are not worth the $ 10 million base salary Jackson is expected to earn next year. The Broncos could pass it with a relatively low $ 2.8 million dead-cap hit. He’ll be 33 next spring. In order to convince the Broncos that he deserves that money, Jackson needs to demonstrate against LA and Las Vegas and be the tangible marker that made the difference in Year 1 at Orange and Blue.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.