Injury-prone Brian Griese puts Broncos in a quandary.(The Gazette)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. _ As if the Denver Broncos didn't have enough sobering thoughts to fill their sudden offseason, here's another one. An entire year has passed, a season come and gone, a goal of returning to the playoffs fulfilled, and they don't have much more of a clue about their quarterback future than they did the day after last New Year's.

For all the questions Brian Griese answered this season, he added nearly that many more to the list. He showed he can lead Denver's offense efficiently, sometimes spectacularly, for part of a season anyway. But he's also writing an owner's manual for shoulder injuries, raising the prospect that the Broncos are banking their future on a fragile quarterback. Griese will spend his second straight offseason recovering from shoulder surgery.

The problem is this: with Griese's injury history, the Broncos face a future of trying to make the playoffs relying on their backup quarterback. Which means they need a very good one. And because they made the playoffs, their schedule now gets tougher. Which means they really need a very good one.

But the very good quarterbacks in the NFL want a starting job, and with the league getting ready to bump up to 32 teams, there are a lot of those jobs to go around. A good quarterback won't want to stand around hoping Griese's ligaments keep failing to hold his arm in place.

Last season, the Broncos could sign someone like Gus Frerotte with the promise that he would have a shot at unseating Griese. Now the Broncos won't convince anyone of that. Griese's Pro Bowl-worthy performance this season only solidified the idea that, if he stays in one piece, he'll be the Broncos' quarterback for the next 10 years.

The job belongs to Griese as long as he's healthy. It's why Frerotte will probably move on. It's why guys like Brad Johnson and Trent Green and Jeff Blake won't ...