Back in March, the suddenly quarterback-less Denver Broncos sent a conditional draft pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for signal-caller Mark Sanchez following Peyton Manning's expected retirement and Brock Osweiler's unexpected departure in free agency. As of right now, Sanchez is the No. 1 QB on Denver's depth chart ahead of 2015 seventh-rounder Trevor Siemian.
That has to be a scary thought for the reigning Super Bowl champions.
That's not meant as a direct barb at Sanchez, who has put together solid stretches of play during his career. But the 29-year-old QB has had opportunities to grab long-term holds on starting gigs with the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles and has failed to do so both times. He's not General Manager John Elway's idea of a franchise quarterback, he's just a fallback option in the interim.
To Sanchez's credit, however, he's working hard to prove to his teammates, coaches, front office executives and outside doubters that he deserves a shot at the starting job.
"I can tell he wants to be a leader on this team," Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders said. "He wants to be our quarterback. He wants to be The Guy. And that's the type of guy we need."
But will Sanchez really be Denver's starter Week 1?
The Broncos had a deal in place with the San Francisco 49ers for quarterback Colin Kaepernick, but financial issues prevented the trade from going through. If Denver is able to create more salary cap space or Kaepernick is willing to forgo $5 million or so in 2016, the Broncos could revisit the deal around the time of the upcoming 2016 NFL Draft. Such a move would likely bump Sanchez to No. 2 on the depth chart.
The Broncos may also continue pursuing free agent options such as Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was initially deemed too expensive, and Brian Hoyer. Adding a QB in the early rounds of the draft remains a possibility as does a potential trade for Cleveland QB Josh McCown. The point is that there are a lot of ways Denver can continue to add to its QB position before Sanchez is named the official starter.
Should the Broncos head into the season with Sanchez, however, at least they know what they would be getting into. In 13 games with the Eagles over the last two seasons, Sanchez completed 64.5 percent of his passes while throwing for 3,034 yards with 18 touchdowns against 15 interceptions. His passer rating in Philly was 84.55. If Denver's defense can perform at a similar level as they did last season - not a given with all of the free agent departures - then the Broncos can still make the playoffs with Sanchez under center.
Follow Brandon Katz at @Great_Katzby.
