Will 2016 Broncos quarterbacks go way of Brister, Griese in 1999?

The Denver Broncos have no shot at replacing Peyton Manning.

There will be a starting quarterback when the defending Super Bowl champions open the season against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 8, that’s a certainty –– though who that might be is very much still up in air.

But, whoever it is, they’ll never be Peyton Manning, just like Bubby Brister nor Brian Griese were John Elway.

“When you have a quarterback like John Elway or Peyton Manning walk away, you’re never going to replace him,” ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter told “CJ and Stokley” Friday. “Now Peyton didn’t have the best year of his career last year. His production wasn’t what it always was. But he’s still Peyton Manning, and that’s a hard thing to replace.”

Schefter, who covered the Denver Broncos for the Denver Post during the franchise’s first two Super Bowl wins, paralleled the situation team’s quarterback situation in 1999 to this season.

“When John left, there was a certain aura, just as I would image is the case this season, that also left with him,” Schefter said.

There’s a sense of security, Schefter said, that leaves once a legendary quarterback like Elway or Manning moves on, leaving teams feeling vulnerable.

“When you have a player like John Elway or Peyton Manning, there’s a certain sense of security that every player derives knowing that you’ve got one of the greatest players to every play the game at that position,” Schefter said. “And so that feeling of security left that team in the 1999 season, and that feeling of security I would imagine will leave this team this season.”

Back then, it was Brian Griese and Bubby Brister vying to replace Elway. This year, it’s Trevor Siemian and Mark Sanchez (with rookie Paxton Lynch kicking around).

Then, the team started the season 0-4 and could not regroup. They didn’t have the “guy you know could stop the bleeding,” Schefter said.

This season, how it unfolds remains to be seen.

Follow 104.3 The Fan digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.