ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos are so close, yet so far from finding their 2017 starting quarterback.
On Wednesday, the eve of training camp, Vance Joseph made the first move in what looks to be a long process, naming Trevor Siemian the starting quarterback for the first practice of training camp.
While the decision to give Siemian the first reps with the ones can be seen as a slight edge to Trevor, Lynch will take the first reps with the ones on Friday, and there could be variance during practices.
“Inside of practice it may be Paxton with the first-team during 7-on-7, it may be Trevor first-team with the move the ball drill,” Joseph explained. “It will be equally divided.”
The decision on who will be under center Sept. 11 against the Los Angeles Chargers is “weeks away,” according to Joseph and he has no plans to rush that process. In fact, Joseph welcomes a lengthy competition.
“I’m not concerned about time. In my opinion, time allows for a fair competition. Time allows for both guys to put their best foot forward and time allows for us to make a sound decision,” he said. “I think time is a good thing with this deal. It’s a huge deal for our football team; it’s a huge deal for those two guys. So to rush a decision without being sure makes no sense for everyone involved. I’m not concerned about time. I want the best guy for this football team.”
Joseph won’t be going into the decision alone. With a staff full of former quarterbacks — from John Elway in the executive level, to Bill Musgrave and Mike McCoy on the offensive staff, to Gary Kubiak in scouting and finally Joseph leading the coaching staff — the Broncos will have many brains to pick in making the decision. However, according to Elway, the final decision will come from the man he hired to lead this team in January.
This isn’t an unusual situation for the team, either. Last year at this time, the Broncos were knee-deep in another quarterback competition, this time with three competitors: Mark Sanchez, Siemian and Lynch.
“I feel good about [the quarterback position],” Elway said. “If you look at where we were last year, in my mind, we are in a much better position this year with Trevor having a year under his belt and having got Paxton in the draft last year, and him having played a couple games and also got a year under his belt. I feel much better about that position.”
Last season, although under a different coaching regime, the battle ended Aug. 29, the Monday after the third preseason game. With only the final preseason game for Siemian, the named starter, to settle in with the starters, Joseph said it “would be ideal” to have a decision before the third preseason game — one week before last year’s decision — but he won’t rush the process.
Finding a quarterback won’t jeopardize the effectiveness of the offense to start the season, according to Joseph, even if the process doesn’t wrap up soon.
“We are still tackling; we are still playing defense, we are still blocking. That one position won’t stop this team from getting better,” he said. “I’m not again concerned about time; it’s going to separate itself. Someone is going to show they are they best man for the team and when it does, I’ll call it off.”
In what is potentially the most important position battle in the entire league, the main focus is about finding the right guy for the job, not about naming a starter by a predetermined time. So settle in, Denver, “Decision 2017” isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
