New Denver Broncos head coach Vance Joseph isn’t tying himself to any one of the quarterbacks currently on the roster. In fact, he doesn’t seem to be prepared to conclude that the team’s future starter is actually on the roster.
In his introductory presser as the Broncos’ head coach, Joseph indicated that there would be an open competition for the team’s starting quarterback job.
Joseph on QBs: "It's going to be an open competition."
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) January 12, 2017
Despite boasting the league’s fourth-best scoring defense, Denver missed out on the playoffs this season. It came a year after the team won Super Bowl 50 with equally as bad play at the quarterback position.
Second-year quarterback Trevor Siemian took a majority of the snaps under center for the nine-win Broncos, tossing 18 touchdowns compared to 10 interceptions in 14 starts. Meanwhile, over-matched first-round pick Paxton Lynch struggled to do anything of substance in limited playing time as a rookie.
These are the to internal candidates to start under center in 2017. Both leave a lot to be desired, with Lynch likely needing even more seasoning in order to become a realistic option.
This leads us to believe that the Broncos might exhaust some of their free-agent capital on bringing in a veteran to compete with these two. The team has in the past been linked to San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who could become a free agent in March. In addition to this, Joseph’s time with the Cincinnati Bengals could make A.J. McCarron a potential trade candidate.
Either way, it seems rather clear that the Broncos will be adding another quarterback during the spring. Whether that translates to a real open competition at quarterback remains to be seen.