Broncos tap Osweiler to start Sunday vs. Eagles, bench Siemian
Nov 1, 2017, 9:37 AM | Updated: 10:57 am
Brock Osweiler is once again the Denver Broncos starting quarterback.
For the first time since the Broncos run to a Super Bowl 50 victory in 2015 and early 2016, Osweiler will be under center for Denver as they take on the Eagles in Philadelphia on Sunday.
Osweiler was the consensus pick to replace struggling gunslinger Trevor Siemian after head coach Vance Joseph left open the possibility of sitting down the third-year quarterback on Tuesday.
Joseph also nixed any notion of Paxton Lynch, the club’s 2016 first-round draft pick, of making the start over Siemian this week, as he only just returned to practice last week after suffering a shoulder injury in Week 3 of the preseason.
Siemian and Lynch had competed during training camp for the starting role, with the former pulling away with the job.
Aside from one series before halftime against the New York Giants in Week 6, Sunday’s game will also serve as Osweiler’s first true playing time since being re-signed by the Broncos in early September.
Osweiler replaced an injured, and subsequently benched, Peyton Manning during the final stretch of the 2015 season, leading the Broncos to a 5-2 record.
However, the 6-foot-7 gunslinger failed to see the field again after being replaced by Manning in the second half of the 2015 regular season finale against the San Diego Charger. Denver would go on to win that game and roll to a world championship.
The following offseason, after Manning hung up his cleats in March of 2016, Osweiler spurned the Broncos by leaving in free agency, signing a four-year, $72-million deal with the Houston Texans.
But despite leading the Texans to an 8-6 record in 14 starts, along with a playoff victory over the Oakland Raiders, Osweiler was benched in Houston and then even traded to the Cleveland Browns this past offseason.
Opting to go with rookie DeShone Kizer under center heading into the 2017 campaign, the Browns cut Osweiler in September. Almost immediately after, Osweiler hitched on with the Broncos once again, signing with the team on Sept. 2.
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