What does Siemian being named Broncos captain mean for Lynch?

It’s pretty apparent that the Denver Broncos have their starting quarterback for at least the foreseeable future.

Head coach Gary Kubiak announced Wednesday that second-year pro Trevor Siemian was named by his teammates as an offensive captain for the second half the 2016 season.

“That’s pretty cool. To be such a young guy and in his first year of playing, I think it tells him that they want him to lead them, regardless of what year he’s in,” Kubiak said after practice Wednesday.

Siemian called the title a “tremendous honor” Wednesday, saying he believes his leadership role has increased as he’s played more throughout the season.

“It means a lot to me to, first of all, be a part of this locker room and to know that some guys think of me in that light,” Siemian said. “A huge honor for me, really excited to be a part of this.”

Sports Radio 104.3 The Fan’s “The Drive” co-host Alfred Williams said Wednesday that he loved the decision, as it makes sense to have your starting quarterback a captain.

“In the NFL, this is a quarterback driven league. If the quarterback’s not your captain, that guy probably can’t play,” Williams said.

The recognition does come just days after arguably Siemian’s worst outing of the season — and thus career — against the San Diego Chargers, not to say of a smattering of calls for backup quarterback rookie Paxton Lynch to take over the job throughout the seasons.

However, “The Drive” co-host DMac said any notion of calling for Lynch, a first-round draft pick, wrong.

“It’s a wrap this year. Any conversation that starts with Trevor Siemian and being replaced at quarterback is dumb,” DMac said. “It’s just not going to happen unless he’s injured.

“But it’s a real interesting indication of how things are set up for next year and the years to come.”

Cecil Lammey, the Fan’s Broncos insider, told “The Drive” Wednesday that the vote of confidence in Siemian by his teammates basically shows they’re with him with or without struggles.
“We’ve Siemian have his struggles. We’ve seen and heard head coach Gary Kubiak be somewhat critical of Trevor Siemian, certainly after this last contest,” Lammey said. “But what it says is that the players are going to ride with this guy. That’s their guy. That’s the guy they want leading this team.”

As for Lynch, whom Denver moved up in the first round of the NFL draft this year to select at 26th overall, it could mean a toxic environment moving forward, Lammey said.

Said Lammey: “It almost creates a toxic situation for Paxton Lynch. And it’s not a bad thing that Trevor Siemian is beloved by his teammates. But what it creates is ‘that’s our guy’ compared to ‘that’s your guy,’ and by your guy I mean the front office’s guy because that’s the guy they moved up for in the first round.”

Siemian will join Demaryius Thomas as the other offensive captain. T.J. Ward will join DeMarcus Ware as defensive and Dekoda Watson joins Kayvon Webster as special teams leaders.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.