Sixteen weeks into their season, the Broncos are still trying to answer a question that has hovered over them for the better part of two years: Who is their starting quarterback?
In the wake of Trevor Siemian’s season-ending shoulder injury, Broncos coach Vance Joseph said he has not decided on the team’s latest starter for Sunday’s game at Washington, D.C.
The impending change will be the fourth for the Broncos this year as all three players — Siemian, Brock Osweiler and Paxton Lynch — have taken turns as the starter, backup and inactive quarterback on game days.
Lynch is expected to receive some time over the next two weeks and Joseph has stressed that giving another opportunity before the offseason is a priority.
But Osweiler, coming off one of the most efficient showings of his career in Denver’s Thursday night win over the Colts, gave the Broncos plenty to mull as they balance talent evaluation with trying to close out the season strong.
“Brock played well, so it would be hard to say he didn’t play well. There’s proof in the film there. But we have a lot of things going on as far as the quarterback deal,” Joseph said. “We want to see Paxton play some. That’s the truth. We have to see where he is as a player moving into the offseason. That’s important to our football team moving forward. But we have to discuss it again. We have to make sure he is totally healthy so he can play well if he does play.
“Again, Brock did play well. So that’s going to be a discussion we have to have with our staff today, to kind of figure out what’s best for all parties involved.”
Last Friday, Joseph said he would meet with his fellow coaches at the start of this week to decide on their starter for Week 16 and possibly their finale against the Chiefs in Denver, too.
But a timetable for that decision is now up in the air.
With Lynch’s recovery from a high ankle sprain, Joseph wants a better look at the quarterback’s mobility and more time to confer with team trainers on his health.
“We’re going to obviously discuss it with the staff and see where we are with both guys,” Joseph said. “Paxton hasn’t practiced in three weeks. We’ve got to see where he’s at physically. He came in Saturday and Sunday and threw the ball and rehabbed. So we’ll see. But it’s a lot of things that go into that decision of who plays for us.”
