Siemian traded to Minnesota Vikings
Two years ago, Trevor Siemian was the story of the NFL: a seventh-round pick who defied the odds and succeeded Peyton Manning as the starting quarterback of the Broncos.
But after a trying season that saw the Broncos finish 5-11 behind a revolving door of starters, Siemian will begin a new chapter to his story — in Minnesota.
The Broncos on Wednesday were finalizing a deal to send Siemian and a 2018 late-round draft pick to the Vikings in exchange for a 2019 pick, NFL sources confirmed. The move essentially completes a quarterback swap between the teams, as Siemian becomes Kirk Cousins’ backup in Minnesota and the Broncos hand the keys to former Viking Case Keenum.
As the Broncos sought to remake their quarterbacks room
this offseason, Siemian appeared to be the odd man out with a cheap salary but trade value with 24 starts. Despite winning two offseason competitions for the starting job and being selected a team captain each season, Siemian’s play spiraled last season, along with the Broncos’ offense, and by year’s end, he had to undergo a second shoulder surgery.
“Obviously we have to get better at that (quarterback) position. We didn’t play well there last year,” Broncos general manager John Elway said at the NFL combine. “That doesn’t all go on the players. There were some things that we should have done differently that we didn’t do.”
In Minnesota, Siemian will get a fresh start alongside Cousins and former Broncos quarterback Kyle Sloter.
The latest turn to his career was as unexpected as the beginning.
After suffering a knee injury his senior season at Northwestern, Siemian was overlooked by most NFL teams in the 2015 draft as he recovered. His workout for the Broncos was done primarily on one leg and when he arrived in Denver, he donned a massive brace on his injured leg.
Generally viewed as an afterthought in the Broncos’ quarterbacks room, Siemian spent his first season as the team’s third-stringer as Manning and Brock Osweiler led the team to a Super Bowl 50 win. When Manning retired the following March, the Broncos traded for Mark Sanchez, pursued (to no avail) Colin Kaepernick, then drafted Lynch in the first round.
But Siemian beat out both Sanchez and Lynch in an offseason competition, and won eight of 14 games in 2016 while playing with a bum shoulder. After undergoing surgery early in the offseason, Siemian bounced back to retain his starting job in another competition with Lynch and was again voted a team captain.
The Broncos’ promising start to 2017, however, fell apart after their bye week, leading to Siemian’s benching and another shoulder injury that required surgery. The Broncos rotated through their three quarterbacks twice each during the season, fired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy 11 weeks in and recorded their first losing season since 2010. During the Broncos’ widespread troubles on offense, Siemian absorbed 33 of the team’s 50 sacks.
“I think you take the positives from it that you can and then everything else you chalk up as a learning experience you have to get better from,” he said at the season’s end. “I know everybody in here, players and coaches, will be better for it in the long run.”
In his two seasons in Denver, Siemian started 24 games, completed 59.3 percent of his passes for 5,686 yards, 30 touchdowns and 24 interceptions, and posted a 79.9 passer rating. But as the Broncos began their offseason of rebuilding, it became clear Siemian would be the odd man out. The team would pursue a free-agent quarterback — and did.
“Case is a great fit for us. He’s coming off a tremendous season last year and has obviously been through a lot of situations throughout his entire career,” Elway said in a statement announcing Keenum’s two-year contract. “Along with that experience, his leadership and competitiveness are what you look for in a quarterback. Case has fought and battled for everything that he’s earned in the NFL, and it’s exciting to add someone with that type of mentality to our team.”
Behind him, though, the Broncos have two young players with uncertain futures in Lynch and Chad Kelly. Elway spent the start of free agency Wednesday at Oklahoma’s pro day and will continue on to UCLA’s pro day Thursday to gain closer looks at a pair of quarterbacks in this year’s draft class, Baker Mayfield and Josh Rosen.
But as the Broncos’ continue to rework their QBs room, Siemian’s future is now a little clearer.