Siemian gets turn to start for Denver
Harrison, Matthews, Peppers agree to interview with league
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Trevor Siemian, locked in a tight battle with Mark Sanchez for the Broncos’ starting quarterback job, will get his turn to start Saturday night during Denver’s exhibition game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Sanchez, acquired in a trade with Philadelphia as a potential replacement for the retired Peyton Manning, started the Broncos’ exhibition opener last week in Chicago.
Rookie first-round pick Paxton Lynch also is in the mix, though the bulk of his work has been with the third team.
Siemian and Sanchez have split repetitions with the Broncos first-team offense throughout training camp and with the two waging a close competition for the job, coach Gary Kubiak decided Siemian should also get a crack at starting.
Kubiak said he would like to make a decision on a starter next week but did not rule out taking more time to finalize his pick.
“Would I like to? Yes. Will I? We’ll see,” Kubiak said.
The Broncos, coming off their Super Bowlwinning season, will have a new face at starting quarterback no matter who gets the job. Brock Osweiler, who went 5-2 in place of the injured Manning last season, left for Houston in free agency.
Siemian, who got in for one play (a gameending kneel-down) as the third-team quarterback last season, is the lone quarterback on the Broncos’ roster with experience in Kubiak’s offensive system.
Sanchez, an eight-year veteran, by far has the edge in game experience with 72 career regular-season starts, including two last season when he was a backup with the Eagles.
Both played well in the preseason opener as did Lynch, and Kubiak has said he expects to have to make a very tough decision since so little has separated Sanchez and Siemian during their competition in training camp.
PED INVESTIGATION: Three NFL players have agreed to be interviewed by league investigators regarding allegations related to banned performance-enhancing substances, according to multiple people familiar with the situation.
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison and Green Bay Packers linebackers Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers have agreed to the interviews, according to those people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic.
HALL OF FAME: The Pro Football Hall of Fame said Thursday it will refund fans for tickets and hotel stays after canceling its annual preseason game this month because of poor field conditions.
Fans will be reimbursed for the face value of its tickets, associated fees and one-night hotel accommodations, the hall said.
GIANTS: Kicker Josh Brown has confirmed that an arrest on a domestic violence charge in May 2015 led to his one-game suspension by the NFL for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
Thursday’s preseason games
PATRIOTS 23, BEARS 22: In Foxborough, Mass., Tom Brady sat out his second straight preseason game, while the guy who will replace him at the start of the regular season continued to make progress.
Brady did not go through pregame warmups Thursday night and never made it to the field for the New England Patriots’ 23-22 win over the Chicago Bears.
Brady had been expected to make his debut after missing last week’s game to attend memorial services for a family member.
Jimmy Garoppolo will start the first four games of the regular season while Brady serves his “Deflategate” suspension, and he made the most of the extra playing time.
He threaded a 16-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to A.J. Derby late in the first half for his first TD pass of the preseason. He played the entire first half and one series in the second half, finishing 16 of 21 for 181 yards.
EAGLES 17, STEELERS 0: In Pittsburgh, Steelers quarterback and Artesia native Landry Jones threw four interceptions and Philadelphia capitalized. BENGALS 30, LIONS 14: In Detroit, Jeremy Hill ran for a 9-yard touchdown on Cincinnati’s first possession, and the Bengals went on to a victory over Detroit. FALCONS 24, BROWNS 13: In Cleveland, Robert Griffin III threw two touchdown passes in the first half in his home debut for Cleveland in the Browns’ loss to Atlanta.
PACKERS 20, RAIDERS 12: In Green Bay, Wis., Eddie Lacy’s powerful running early on helped propel Green Bay to a win over Oakland.
Lacy had nine carries for 45 yards, capped by a 1-yard touchdown dive on third-and-goal, to highlight a 14-play, 74-yard drive to start the game as the Packers again played without quarterback Aaron Rodgers.