Mark Sanchez did everything right. “We’re going to keep working here, find the guy that we think is best for our football team and go from there”.
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Denver Broncos quarterback Mark Sanchez has fallen behind Trevor Siemian in the team’s starting competition, 9 News Denver’s Mike Klis confirms.
But now, the job is starting to look more and more like it’s Siemian’s to lose.
But Week 3 of the preseason is commonly referred to as “a dress rehearsal” for real football; starters often play the first half and there could even be some game-planning. He’s the prospect in waiting – the player the Broncos selected with the long-term plan in mind – and Broncos coach Gary Kubiak has given him a ton of praise for his progress.
That’s two preseason starts in a row for Siemian in the two most important exhibition games for the first stringers.
“Obviously, he has one play that he’d like to have back or it would have been as good as it could be”, Kubiak added of Siemian’s performance. “I have to sit here and think about how much I’m going to play the starters, so that’ll have a lot to do with how I play them”. “I knew this was going to take some time”. “I’m going to go back and give him a chance to do that again”.
The Broncos quarterback talked an impressive game this offseason: He was embracing the opportunity to replace Peyton Manning and didn’t cause a stir when Broncos general manager John Elway openly tried to pry Colin Kaepernick from the 49ers; he promised to work closely with first-round pick Paxton Lynch; and he returned quickly from a thumb injury in May so as not to miss practice time during OTAs.
Siemian, who had one kneel down as a seventh-round rookie a year ago, is 17 of 26 for only 163 yards in two preseason games but he has yet to be sacked and has one turnover – albeit a pick six.
Sanchez is the highest-paid of the three by a longshot, counting $4.5 million against the cap. Siemian jammed his shoulder while trying to make a diving tackle on San Francisco safety Eric Reid during the interception return. He is set to be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, so teams would only be taking on the past year of his current contract.
Just because he carries himself like a seasoned vet, though, doesn’t mean he should be expected to play like one.
“I squandered a great opportunity to separate myself and put the team in a bad situation”, Sanchez said following the game. “Poor, poor quarterbacking play”.
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Kubiak said he’s not disappointed by the uncertainty at the most important position this close to the regular season. He simply said: “It’s hard playing like crap on two plays and ruining an opportunity, that’s hard”.
