Broncos sign QB Austin Davis following Mark Sanchez release

In making 23 roster moves Saturday — perhaps most notably the release of veteran quarterback Mark Sanchez — the Denver Broncos trimmed its team down to 52 players, one under the maximum.

That final roster spot was quickly filled Saturday afternoon, however, as the team signed veteran quarterback Austin Davis.

Davis fills the veteran quarterback void left by Sanchez, who went from presumed starter at the onset of preseason to losing his job (and subsequent roster spot) to second-year pro Trevor Siemian and rookie Paxton Lynch.

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A fifth year pro with 10 starts in 13 games played with St. Louis and Cleveland, Davis becomes the most experienced quarterback in terms of regular season reps. Neither Siemian nor Lynch have thrown an NFL regular season pass, with the former only having taken one snap — a kneel-down.

Broncos general manager John Elway said during a press conference Saturday that the team would be bringing in a third quarterback, “a veteran.”

When asked if the quarterback — at the time it was unannounced Davis was the team’s target — would compete for the starting job, Elway said:

“He’s coming in to learn the offense. We’ll take it one step at a time, let’s put it that way. Anytime you bring a guy in this late, it’s going to take some time to get him turned around. Trevor is the guy. We have a lot of confidence in Trevor and believe that he can do the job.”

Davis has a career 62.4 percent completion percentage, 2,548 yards passing, 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

During the press conference, Elway said it was “unfortunate” that Sanchez didn’t win the starting job, but that the eight-year pro acted with “great class.”

“I know he was disappointed. He wanted to stay here. We just thought that where we are it was probably best for us to go in different ways at this point in time,” Elway said. “Mark was great. You know what? He handled everything great.”

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