Cousins' agent: Broncos never made offer

The Denver Broncos were one of the final four teams in the running for Kirk Cousins, but apparently, they didn't actually make an offer for the top free-agent prize, according to the quarterback's agent.

Mike McCartney said he told interested parties he would accept one offer per team, essentially creating a silent auction for Cousins' services, per Peter King of SI.com.

With the Minnesota Vikings - the ultimate winners - and the cap-rich New York Jets the favorites, the Broncos went for the safe route by opting out of the Cousins sweepstakes and signing Case Keenum instead.

King surmised that Broncos general manager John Elway was wary of losing out on both Cousins and his plan Plan B in Keenum, adding he likely had an issue with paying $10 million-$12 million more per season for the former Washington Redskins signal-caller due to the number of high-profile Broncos players in need of extensions in the near future.

Cousins signed a fully guaranteed $84-million deal with the Vikings, leaving the Broncos with questions still to answer about the future of their quarterback position, despite signing Keenum, whose relatively minor two-year, $36-million deal locks him in as a stop-gap option.

The Broncos sit at No. 5 in the draft, and will likely need to trade up if they have their sights set on a particular quarterback prospect - especially after the New York Jets leapfrogged them thanks to acquiring the Indianapolis Colts' No. 3 selection.