Broncos will start Brock Osweiler, who really might be their best option at QB

John Elway said Tuesday the quarterback position in Denver is under review. Now, the Broncos have made their call. Brock Osweiler will start for the first time this season when the Broncos visit the 7-1 Eagles in Week 9, according to Mike Klis.

How did we get here? The Broncos don’t have much choice after Trevor Siemian’s no good, very bad game against the Chiefs on Monday Night Football.

Siemian went 19 of 36 for 198 yards and finished with an abysmal 43.5 QB rating. He threw three ugly interceptions against one garbage-time touchdown. And he did it coming off of a week when the Broncos got shut out by the Chargers.

The Broncos’ 29-19 loss dropped them to 3-4.

Broncos head coach Vance Joseph didn’t mince words about Siemian’s turnovers, even though he said the quarterback’s performance wasn’t as bad as it seemed.

“When you watch Trevor, even last night, he made three horrible interceptions, I mean horrific decisions, with those three he threw last night,” Joseph said. “But he had 20 other plays that were really, really good.”

But Siemian has forced the Broncos’ hand.

Why Osweiler? 2016 first-round pick Paxton Lynch is still dealing with a shoulder injury and probably isn’t a viable option right now, either. Joseph said Tuesday Lynch has only practiced four times since returning from the injury he suffered in the preseason.

That leaves Osweiler, who signed with the Broncos again this offseason after he failed to earn the starting job with the Browns.

Hue Jackson has benched rookie DeShone Kizer a few times for costly turnovers. Jackson has tried Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan in the starting quarterback role, too, and neither has been impressive enough to stick. Still, Osweiler wasn’t able to secure a place on that shaky depth chart.

Osweiler started his career in Denver and filled in adequately for Peyton Manning during the 2015 season. Osweiler started in seven games with the Broncos and went 5-2. Denver went on to win the Super Bowl that season, and he became a free agent in the offseason. Osweiler turned down offers from Denver and decided to sign a four-year, $75 million deal with the Houston Texans.

Osweiler wasn’t effective in Houston, despite going 8-6 as the starter. He threw for 2,957 yards to go along with 15 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 15 starts. During the offseason, Houston traded Osweiler to the Browns.

This season, Osweilier has only appeared in one game. He briefly filled in for Siemian in Week 6 against the Giants when Siemian injured his non-throwing shoulder. Osweiler completed 2 of 4 passes for 18 yards before Siemian returned to the game.

Now, Osweiler is the guy again in Denver out of necessity.