When the Broncos traded for quarterback Mark Sanchez -- and didn’t acquire any other quarterbacks this offseason -- it appeared that he was set to be the team’s starter. But there’s no guarantee of that.
Broncos coach Gary Kubiak has said repeatedly that Sanchez will have to earn the job in a competition with last year’s seventh-round pick Trevor Siemian and this year’s first-round pick Paxton Lynch.
Troy Renck of the Denver Post thinks Sanchez has only a “slight edge” over Siemian heading into training camp, and Renck thinks Sanchez has to win the job over Siemian, as opposed to the job being Sanchez’s to lose.
Siemian has the advantage that he’s the only Broncos quarterback who has spent a year in Kubiak’s offense. Lynch isn’t expected to be ready to start in Week One, but the Broncos didn’t draft him in the first round to sit him on the bench forever. So Sanchez needs to look good in training camp and the preseason to earn the job, and he needs to play well to keep the job.
Sanchez’s history in the NFL suggests he’s unlikely to play well consistently. Which means it’s easy to envision Sanchez either failing to earn the starting job or earning it but not keeping it.
Unfortunately, Siemian and Lynch haven’t proven that they can be NFL starting quarterbacks, either. The good news for the Broncos is their defense proved last year that it can take the team far, even if the quarterback isn’t playing well.
