BRONCOS CONTINUE QUARTERBACK SHUFFLE
Another change – Lynch or Osweiler – is fourthcoming
Sixteen weeks into their season, the Broncos are still trying to answer a question that has hovered over them for the better part of two years: Who is their starting quarterback?
In the wake of Trevor Siemian’s season-ending shoulder injury, Broncos coach Vance Joseph said Monday he has not decided on the team’s latest starter for Sunday’s game at Washington, D.C. The impending change will be the fourth for the Broncos this year as all three players — Siemian, Brock Osweiler and Paxton Lynch — have taken turns as the starter, backup and inactive quarterback on game days.
Lynch is expected to receive some playing time over the next two weeks and Joseph has stressed that giving him another opportunity before the offseason is a priority. But Osweiler, coming off one of the most efficient showings of his career in Denver’s Thursday night win over the Colts, gave the Broncos plenty to mull as they balance talent evaluation with trying to close out the season strong.
“Brock played well, so it would be hard to say he didn’t play well. There’s proof in the film there. But we have a lot of things going on as far as the quarterback deal,” Joseph said. “We want to see Paxton play some. That’s the truth. We have to see where he is as a player moving into the offseason. That’s important to our football team moving forward. But we have to discuss it again. We want to make sure he is totally healthy so he can play well if he does play.
“Again, Brock did play well. So that’s going to be a discussion that we have to have with our staff today, to kind of figure out
what’s best for all parties involved.”
Last Friday, Joseph said he would meet with his assistant coaches at the start of this week to decide on their starter for Week 16 and possibly their finale against the Chiefs in Denver, too.
But a timetable for that decision is now up in the air. Lynch is recovering from a high ankle sprain and Joseph wants a better look at the quarterback’s mobility and more time to confer with team trainers on his health.
“We’ve got to see where he’s at physically,” Joseph said. “He came in Saturday and Sunday and threw the ball and rehabbed. So we’ll see. But it’s a lot of things that go into that decision of who plays for us.”
Siemian was placed on injured reserve last week after suffering a subluxed, or partially dislocated, left shoulder. He fell hard during a first-quarter sack and an MRI taken Friday confirmed the diagnosis.
Osweiler took over and turned a 10-point Broncos deficit into a 25-13 win by engineering four scoring drives and finishing with one of his finest performances: 12-of-17 passing for 194 yards and two touchdowns, plus one rushing touchdown and a 147.7 rating.
It leaves the Broncos with two real options, and a possibility for a third: Start either Osweiler or Lynch, or play both, much like they did in the preseason.
Lynch, a 2016 first-round pick by the Broncos, was beat out by Siemian in consecutive offseason competitions for the starting job, then suffered a shoulder sprain in the 2017 preseason that prompted the team to sign Osweiler. After 10 weeks of recovery, Lynch received his first start of the season, at Oakland, but played less than three quarters before hobbling to the sideline with an ankle sprain. He left with a 64.3 completion percentage, 41 passing yards, one interception and 38.4 rating.
Lynch has spent the past three weeks recovering and, though he’s been medically cleared to practice, has had limited time on the field.
“I will say this: Players get better with playing in games. I’ve seen the guy play in practice, obviously,” Joseph said. “He had a start against the Raiders with three quarters maybe. With game experience, some guys get better. And you want to see him in games. It’s different in practice. It’s a controlled environment. We want to see him play in games. But again, if he’s healthy enough to play
“It’s tough not knowing three or four times this year who is going to be the guy to play.”
Vance Joseph, Broncos coach
we will do that maybe. If not, we’ll wait and see.”
But there’s more to consider than the two quarterbacks themselves. The rest of the team has endured three quarterback changes already and, after reeling from an eight-game losing streak, the Broncos have won their last two.
“I’m assuming it’s tough. It’s tough not knowing three or four times this year who is going to be the guy to play,” Joseph said. “That’s tough. It’s been tough for our football team playing three different guys. I get it. But it’s my job to play the best guy for us to win football games, and that’s where we are.”
Joseph has said repeatedly that winning takes precedence over future evaluation. But it’s a fine line, and for the quarterbacks, their standard has been a different from other positions. And with the question of deciding a starter for now includes the bigger question of where it leaves the three quarterbacks for next season.
Osweiler will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, and Lynch has two years left on his rookie contract, , unless the Broncos later exercise his fifth-year option. His salary cap hits for the next two seasons are approximately $2.6 million and $3 million, respectively.
Siemian has one year left on his contract with a cap hit of only $718,198. Depending on the Broncos’ plan at quarterback, Siemian could be back in 2018, or the team could try to shop him and gauge his trade value.
“He’s battled all year. He’s had two shoulder injuries this year. He’s played through all of it,” Joseph said. “With it being a three-to-four-week injury now with only two weeks to go, it didn’t make sense to keep him on the roster. But he’s a warrior. He’s a tough guy. He had a tough year with injuries but he battled and kept fighting for us.”
When asked about Siemian’s future with the team, Joseph expressed uncertainty.
“I’m not sure. That’s a question we all have to answer after the season, a number of us,” he said. “So I’m not sure. But he’s a good young quarterback. Smart. Tough. So we’ll see where that lies.”