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Denver Broncos General Manager/President of Football Operations John Elway appeared on Sirius XM NFL Radio yesterday and was asked about the timetable on naming a starter at quarterback. Well, apparently there isn’t one according to Elway, or he’s not announcing one publicly.
John Elway: No timetable for a decision on the QB position pic.twitter.com/xOPboAVKEE
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) August 14, 2017
This is a bit of a surprise since they have insinuated or even directly said before the third preseason game they will announce a starter, but now they’re hesitating a bit from their original stance.
After today’s practice, Head Coach Vance Joseph was also asked this question. He wasn’t as dismissive as Elway but he wouldn’t confirm that the decision would be made next Monday.
“Monday? I don’t know. I’m not sure and I’m not there yet. Paxton is starting Saturday and after the game we’ll sit down and watch and figure out our plans from there but I’m not sure. I’m not stressed about that—about it being Monday.”
Monday is important because that’s the week they start preparing for their week three preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. It’s the week you see some game-planning and basically have a dress rehearsal for the regular season. So naming a starter that day as they begin preparing for the game and the regular season makes a ton of sense. It allows that player to begin to get into a rhythm and build chemistry with his teammates. The longer this drags out the more detrimental it is to the offense.
Now despite all of this, I think they will name one of them(likely Trevor Siemian) the starter by Monday, Tuesday at the very latest. These statements by Elway and Joseph seem to be said to help take the pressure off Paxton Lynch as he prepares for the two joint practices and his start against the 49ers on Saturday. The Broncos continue to keep the door open for him to take the job even though he is falling behind Trevor Siemian who isn’t being all that great himself. This will be Lynch’s final shot to win the starting job for week one of the regular season and he will likely have to play very well to do so.
But for now, we wait.