Written by Chris Hutchison

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ESPN's Chris Mortensen recently talked with Denver GM John Elway and Denver Coach John Fox, and stated this on his radio show:

"I can tell you unequivocally that if you talk to John Elway and John Fox they will tell you emphatically that Brady Quinn is absolutely in the mix in terms of the competition for the starting job.  They are not handing it to Tim Tebow.  They are not handing it to Kyle Orton.  They may have a depth chart to start out, but I know in communicating and speaking to both men that Brady Quinn is not forgotten."

So, what does this mean?

Well, that the Broncos are angling to have the worst record in the NFL next year, enabling John Elway to take fellow Stanford alum Andrew Luck at #1 overall, of course.

Really, Orton is the only QB they have on the team, but there are plenty of rumblings that they might move him.  That leaves two highly questionable QB prospects - Tebow and Quinn.

Now, I know what you're going to say:  Why not just play Tebow and see what you've got and maybe if you're lucky he's good and you don't need to flop, and if he isn't then they'll suck anyway?  But if they have already determined that Josh McDaniels was freakin' insane and that Tebow has no damn busines being a QB in the NFL, then you certainly DON'T play him because that would hurt his trade value.

But Quinn?  His trade value is already nil.  There's no harm in playing him and watching him fail spectacularly.

Fail them all the way to the promised land.  Because if the Broncos do end up getting Luck, then starting Brady Quinn for the 2011 season might be one of the best decisions they ever made.