SIEMIAN TO START: FROM LONGSHOT TO MANNING HEIR
Second-year QB starter for Broncos
Broncos coach Gary Kubiak told his players the decision would be made early this week. He told them the six-month search for a starting quarterback would end and they finally could focus on their seasonopening Super Bowl rematch with the Carolina Panthers. Kubiak kept his word. Early Monday he told his team that Trevor Siemian, the second-year pro from Northwestern, will take over where Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler left off as the Broncos’ starting quarterback.
“I didn’t have any doubt when I made the decision,” Kubiak said. “I felt very strongly that he had won the job, and that’s exactly what I told the quarterbacks and the football team. I thought he deserved the right to go out there and be our starter. … The guys gave Trevor a big hand in the meeting room. I think they’re all as proud of him as I am and the coaches. They know how hard he’s worked.”
While the decision seemed almost inevitable a week ago, when Kubiak appointed Siemian his starter for the second consecutive preseason game, it was unthinkable to most outsiders only six months ago, when Manning announced his retirement and Osweiler bolted for the Houston Texans. The franchise that once had the most prolific offense in NFL history and had just won the Super Bowl was suddenly without a starting quarterback, outside of this seventh-round draft pick who had only one regularseason snap in his career.
And so a winding, bizarre
search for help began.
Veteran quarterback Mark Sanchez, who once led the New York Jets to back-to-back AFC championship games, was quickly acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. Negotiations for Colin Kaepernick began and dragged on for months. Consideration was given to Robert Griffin III. And Brian Hoyer. And Ryan Fitzpatrick and Sam Bradford and Josh McCown.
Discussions ended when the Broncos drafted Paxton Lynch. But the questions and uncertainty only grew as the open quarterback competition unfolded in organized team activities and throughout training camp.
It was then that the grades started counting, and it was then that Siemian quietly — and calmly — stood out.
“I remember seeing it last year,” wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders said. “He was the guy I was throwing with prior to games last year, and I remember telling Demaryius (Thomas): ‘Man, this dude has an arm. He can really throw.’ It’s just all about opportunity in this league.”
In March, Siemian was in the background, viewed as just a guy and not a true contender to be a starter. He didn’t fit the narrative or the ideal of a starting NFL quarterback, let alone one who would succeed Manning.
“I’m not trying to be Peyton,” Siemian said. “I could probably get in a lot of trouble trying to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Those shoes are way too big to fill. I’m just trying to be the best me I can be every day, the best teammate and go from there.”
The calm, cool demeanor that impressed the Broncos back in 2015 has confounded outsiders — and still does — but it’s a trait Siemian’s teammates and coaches partially credit for his rise.
Two days after the Broncos’ preseason loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Aug. 20, Kubiak named Siemian the starter for the second week in a row, indicating he had a leg up in what had been a close race with Sanchez. Siemian played the first half in Denver’s victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday night, completing 10-of-17 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown.
But it was his response to throwing an interception early in the second quarter that probably sealed the deal. On the ensuing series, Siemian led the Broncos on a 67-yard march that ended with a touchdown pass to tight end Virgil Green.
Siemian, the kid who wasn’t supposed to be here, had announced his presence.
“I feel like it’s the right decision,” Kubiak said. “I knew I was going to have to make a tough decision one way or the other when we got going with our situation. But I feel strong about it from what I’ve seen. I understand all the things about being young. I understand all that stuff. But I believe in this team.
“This is a long hard season in the National Football League. It’s the old saying: ‘It’s a marathon, not a sprint.’ I believe in this kid and what he can do for our football team, and I believe in what our team can do for him.”