Following the retirement of Peyton Manning and the free agent departure of Brock Osweiler, the Denver Broncos were left in a precarious position under center. Veteran Mark Sanchez was brought in to help stabilize the position, and the Broncos invested a first-round pick in Paxton Lynch to cover their long-term bases. But could Denver actually be staging a real three-man race for the starting job?
Second-year passer Trevor Siemian is also on the roster, and the long-held belief that the job is Sanchez's seems to be mistaken. Still, the veteran does have the best shot at winning the job for 2016. Sanchez has appeared in 75 NFL games for the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles. But the QB's injury to his non-throwing thumb has allowed Lynch and Siemian to receive valuable OTA reps.
Lynch, who is expected to start somewhere down the line, was praised by teammates after OTAs. He threw for 3,776 yards, 28 touchdowns and only four interceptions last season at Memphis while completing a career-high 66.8 percent of his passes.
Siemian, meanwhile, has a slight edge on both passers in terms of his understanding of Denver's offense. The 2015 seventh-rounder out of Northwestern served as the team's No. 2 quarterback while Peyton Manning was injured last year and has more familiarity with the scheme. Lynch has gone on the record as saying the playbook is "a lot to handle." Sanchez was present at OTAs and worked with the starters, but he did not take a snap from center.
Broncos.com's Andrew Mason describes the team's quarterback competition as a "wide open" race. Head coach Gary Kubiak has reportedly told his quarterbacks that there will be an open competition. Mason expects Kubiak to hold off on naming a starter "until sometime potentially into the preseason."
Ideally, the Broncos want all three quarterbacks to receive game reps before a final decision is made. According to Mason, "When [Kubiak] says it's going to be an open competition, he means it. Don't assume anything."
In other words, Sanchez needs to watch his back.
