At 3-6 on the season and after losing their past five games by a combined 97 points, things are not going swimmingly for the last-place Denver Broncos.
More than anything, it’s been the quarterback situation that’s held this team back. Trevor Siemian started the first seven games, only to be benched after throwing nine touchdowns and 10 picks during that span.
Denver then turned to former Texans free agent bust Brock Osweiler, who has since lost his two starts by a combined 53 points. All the while, former first-round pick Paxton Lynch has been sidelined the entire season with a shoulder injury.
Things are changing in Denver with the team set to take on Cincinnati Sunday. According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, Siemian will be a healthy inactive after being passed up on the depth chart by a now-healthy Paxton Lynch. The second-year quarterback will back up Osweiler in Week 11.
“Brock Osweiler will start again for the 3-6 Broncos, Paxton Lynch will be his backup, and original starter Trevor Siemian will be inactive, sources say. The hope is this is the beginning of the turnaround,” Rapoport reported Sunday morning.
The hope in Denver has to be that Lynch will eventually take over for the struggling Osweiler under center here soon.
The Broncos simply need to know what they have in the young quarterback heading into the offseason. Short of Lynch seeing substantial action as the season draws to a conclusion, Denver will be going blindly into an offseason in which the team needs to address this all-important position.