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It’s been a long time since Trevor Siemian started at quarterback for the Denver Broncos, so you might forget that in an era of really bad football for the franchise that he was the last quarterback to lead the Broncos to a winning record.
Unfortunately for Broncos fans, that was in 2016.
Siemian’s football odyssey since he started most of 2 seasons for the Broncos in 2016 and 2017 has been something to behold and added its latest stop on October 9 when he was signed to the practice squad of the Tennessee Titans.
Siemian went 2-1 in 3 games as the starter for the New York Jets in 2023. The Titans have only had 2 quarterbacks all season with Will Levis and Mason Rudolph after their third quarterback, Malik Willis, was traded to the Green Bay Packers.
It’s Siemian’s second stint with the Titans after spending time on their practice squad in 2020. He’s also familiar with head coach Brian Callahan, who was an offensive assistant coach on the Broncos during Siemian’s rookie season in 2015.
“It was more looking at how if (Levis) goes out of the game we’ve got one quarterback who can play,” Callahan told The Tennessean. “Just getting a guy in that can at least have some familiarity as a third quarterback in that’s a veteran guy. I know I have said before that I prefer a younger one. I would for developmental purposes. But this is a different situation. This is more of a making sure we have someone that could be ready if we need him.”
The Titans are 1-3 coming off a bye week and headed into a Week 6 home game against AFC South Division rivals the Indianapolis Colts.
Siemian’s Strange Place in NFL History
The Broncos drafted Siemian in the seventh round (No. 250 overall) out of Northwestern in the 2015 NFL draft and he won a Super Bowl as a rookie while he served as the third-string quarterback behind Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler.
When Manning retired after the season and Osweiler signed a 4-year, $72 million free agent contract with the Houston Texans, Siemian beat out veteran Mark Sanchez and 2016 first round pick Paxton Lynch to become the Broncos’ starter. That made Siemian the first quarterback to start a season opener for a defending Super Bowl champion who had never thrown an NFL pass.
The Broncos went 9-7 in 2016 — 8-6 with Siemian as the starter — and he was named an alternate for the Pro Bowl but had to drop out because of a shoulder injury. Siemian went 5-5 in 2017 under new head coach Vance Joseph before he was benched.
Since 2017, Siemian has spent time with the Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals and 2 stints each with the Jets and Titans.
New Era at QB for Broncos With Rookie QB Bo Nix
The Broncos have something that’s been in short supply since Siemian’s rookie season — hope — thanks to a brash rookie quarterback in Bo Nix and a stifling defense that’s led them to 3 consecutive wins following an 0-2 start.
Ironically, Nix is the first rookie quarterback to start for the Broncos since Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway in 1983 — the same Elway who was mostly responsible for the Broncos’ struggles at quarterback over the last decade.
During Elway’s time as general manager for the Broncos from 2011 to 2020, he drafted 6 quarterbacks — Osweiler, Siemian, Zac Dysert, Chad Kelly, Drew Lock and Lynch.
None of those picks panned out and the Broncos haven’t made the playoffs since winning the Super Bowl following the 2015 season.
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