Broncos draft Lynch, so what happens now for Kaepernick, Bradford?

John Elway calmed the nerves of Denver Broncos fans wondering who would be quarterbacking the team on Thursday night, trading up in the first round to draft Memphis' Paxton Lynch.

After watching Peyton Manning ride off into the sunset after the team's win in Super Bowl 50 and Brock Osweiler hop on the nearest Brinks truck bound for Houston, the Broncos' roster was bare at the quarterback position, and a trade for Mark Sanchez wasn't doing much to allay fears.

So Denver discussed acquiring Colin Kaepernick from San Francisco, and reportedly had the parameters of a trade in place, but it stalled when Kaepernick refused to take a $5 million pay cut from his 2016 base salary of $11.9 million, which became guaranteed earlier this month.

The Broncos also met with free agent Brian Hoyer, and after Sam Bradford went all first-grader and whined about wanting to go somewhere else after the Philadelphia Eagles traded for the No. 2 pick to take a  younger, cheaper and presumably better-than-mediocre quarterback, Denver reportedly had talks about acquiring him too.

But now that they have Lynch, pursuit of any of those veterans has ended, Elway told reporters in Denver on Thursday night.

So what happens now for Kaepernick and Bradford? In the short term, both appear stuck with their current teams, but San Francisco and Philadelphia are in different situations.

The 49ers have a need for Kaepernick. They have Blaine Gabbert on the roster, and Gabbert started the final eight games of the season last year after Kaepernick was benched. But it wasn't so long ago that Kaepernick was quarterbacking the Niners to the Super Bowl and NFC championship game in back-to-back years, and his athleticism would seem to fit well in head coach Chip Kelly's up-tempo offense. And San Francisco was so proud after signing Kaepernick to such a team-friendly deal less than two years ago.

Though he is rehabbing after undergoing multiple offseason surgeries, Kaepernick has been with the 49ers for their offseason program (he has a $400,000 bonus for taking part).

Bradford's situation is a bit different. He was signed to a two-year, $36 million extension in March that included $22 million guaranteed. But then the Eagles also signed Chase Daniel to a three-year, $21 million deal - and then they traded up, drafting Carson Wentz on Thursday night.

Might the New York Jets be interested in either player? Ryan Fitzpatrick is reportedly telling people in his life he'd rather retire than take the contract the Jets have offered him, which is in the range of $7 million to $8 million a year.

Perhaps the Browns might try to get one of the quarterbacks? They have signed Robert Griffin III, but he's working to rebuild his career like Kaepernick is, so maybe a little competition would help both.

Again, acquiring either Kaepernick or Bradford comes with a cost, both financial and, presumably, in draft picks, but as we've seen over and over in the NFL in recent years, a team isn't going to go far without a quarterback.

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