John Elway, a Hall of Fame quarterback who led the Denver Broncos to two Super Bowl titles in the late 1990s, isn't certain the team has a franchise signal-caller on its roster.
Elway, now the Broncos' executive vice president of football operations, told KKFN-FM that the team, which owns the No. 2 overall pick in this month's draft, is looking closely at quarterbacks, despite the presence of Kyle Orton, Tim Tebow and Brady Quinn, all of whom have started in the NFL.
"Obviously if there's a guy there that's a franchise guy there, we definitely have to look at it because we're not sure we have a franchise guy on our team right now," Elway said. "So, obviously we've got to visit that, look at it, and do our due diligence on it, and then we'll make our decision from there."
NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora cited a league source in reporting that the Broncos worked out Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick on Thursday and will meet with him again in Denver next week. The team also will work out Washington quarterback Jake Locker in Seattle on Friday, according to a league source.
The Broncos also are expected to work out or meet with quarterbacks Ryan Mallett of Arkansas, Cam Newton of Auburn and Blaine Gabbert of Missouri, La Canfora reported.
New Broncos coach John Fox told reporters at February's NFL Scouting Combine that Orton was his starter, but Elway calls the draft process genuine.
"It's not a smokescreen," he said. "We realize -- and I realize -- how important that position is, and if there's a franchise guy there that we know is a franchise guy, we'd have to look at it."
