The Broncos' quarterback situation is so bad that in Week 9 against the Eagles, they're forced to start a player who was traded in a salary dump over the summer, then cut by the worst team in the league.
That's right, on Sunday at the Linc, the Eagles will face Brock Osweiler.
Broncos head coach Vance Joseph announced the QB switch Wednesday. Denver had been starting Trevor Siemian, who has been atrocious lately. Siemian has been battered around behind a poor Broncos offensive line, and on Monday night against the Chiefs, the impact of all those QB hits was quite clear. Siemian was skittish, made bad decisions and turned the ball over three times.
"With our team working so hard, the guys putting in max effort [Monday night] and not having a chance to win the football game, I think it's fair to evaluate the quarterback and all positions," Joseph said Tuesday.
"When you watch Trevor, even last night, he made three horrible interceptions. I mean, horrific decisions with those three he threw last night. He had 20 other plays that were really, really good. When you watch your starting quarterback make 20 or 25 amazing throws, amazing checks and three horrific interceptions, that's when it becomes an issue. In your heart you know he can play better because those three balls he threw, you just can't throw. The 20-plus plays he made in the third and fourth quarter, it keeps you excited about the guy. That's the issue.
"Again, it's about results and we haven't had them. We've lost three games in a row, and again, yesterday with four turnovers. At the end of the day, it's about results. It's not about how he's played, it's the end result that we're not getting and it's not good."
Osweiler began his career with the Broncos before signing with the Texans. Houston lavished him with a four-year, $72 million contract that included $37 million guaranteed. But he was so, so bad that after one season, the Texans traded two draft picks (a 2018 second-rounder and 2017 sixth-rounder) to the Browns just for them to take Osweiler's remaining contract.
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The Browns cut him six months later and he returned to the Broncos, who are paying him just $775,000.
In 15 games last season, Osweiler completed 59 percent of his passes for 2,957 yards with 15 TDs and 16 interceptions. He averaged just 5.8 yards per pass and had a QB rating of 72.2.
