Edwards: Broncos QB is status quo, for now

“Trevor (Siemian) will start the game this week,” said Denver Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak at a Monday press conference. “They are all going to play. The biggest thing I am going to have to do is look at how much I am going to play our starters, as far as how I’m going to get the rotation going. Trevor will start.”

Before we really dive into this, let’s be honest. Neither Siemian or Sanchez were particularly inspiring during Saturday’s exhibition game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Siemian’s first drive was efficient, going 5-of-6 for 55 yards, capped off by a 19-yard scamper touchdown by C.J. Anderson. Siemian’s next three drives, before Mark Sanchez took over in the second quarter, the Broncos offense finished in a punt, a pick six, and a punt. Siemian went 5-of-8 for 20 yards in those drives and looked clearly rattled in the series following his game changing interception before being pulled.

Sanchez won’t admit this, because it would be considered bad form, but there had to be a small part of him, otherwise known as Captain Competitor, that did a tiny fist pump when Siemian faltered. After all, Sanchez is not only competing for a job with Siemian (and Lynch), he may even be competing for the option to remain on this roster following the cuts coming up in a week.

We’re a long ways from Sanchez being on the streets, but it’s not entirely outside of the realm of possibility for the Broncos to consider moving on if he was the third string quarterback on the roster. In this scenario, Denver would save $3.5 million toward the cap, and they would get their seventh-round pick back that was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles if Sanchez made the roster.

Pick Denver traded to Philly for Mark Sanchez was a conditional pick – meaning Sanchez must make Denver's roster for Eagles to get pick.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 23, 2016

For now, let’s focus on what happened to Sanchez in the 49ers game that kept him from capitalizing on Siemian’s gaffe.

Sanchez came out firing when inserted as starter at the 11:12 mark of the second quarter, completing a bullet to wide receiver Cody Latimer across the middle for 24 yards. He finished the going 3-of-4 for 47 yards. The drive stalled when Sanchez was sacked at the 49ers 22-yard line, and the Broncos were forced to kick a field goal, making the score 14-10. Sanchez looked sharp on his second drive, going 7-of-8 for 73 yards. However, at the 49ers 13 yard line, he was sacked and fumbled the ball. Drive killer.

Sanchez, over the course of his career, has fumbled the ball 51 times in 75 starts. So basically, Sanchez fumbles the ball in 68 percent of his games played. This isn’t including his interceptions, which added in means he turns the ball over on average 1.8 times per game started.

Peyton Manning averaged 1.2 turnovers per game but only fumbled the ball in 28 percent of the time.

For what it’s worth, nobody is mistaking Manning’s career for Sanchez’s. However, if we’re talking about the next Broncos quarterback to lead this team, it’s important to note that Sanchez “is who he is” and shouldn’t be expected to change. He’s careless with the ball, and his stats prove that out. (In case you think these stats aren’t fair, quarterback Matthew Stafford, taken four picks ahead of Sanchez in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, has a 44 percent fumble rate through 93 starts)

Let’s go back to the Broncos-49ers game. As we last we left things, Sanchez just turned the ball over in the red zone. The Denver defense, like it did so many times last year, came up with a big play and got the ball right back into the hands of the offense when linebacker Zaire Anderson stripped running back Mike Davis.

Mark Sanchez has yet another shot at redemption if he can just close out this short, 15-yard drive with a touchdown. First pass was on the money to wide receiver Jordan Taylor, but he wasn’t able to haul in the ball in bounds. On second down, Mark’s pass on opposite side of the field to Tayler also had a chance but was incomplete.

On third down and 10, from the San Francisco 15-yard line, Sanchez did what he has done 68 percent of the time as a starter. He fumbled the ball. Again. The Broncos head to the locker room trailing 17-10 and losing the turnover battle 3-1.

Sanchez had a chance to change the status quo and couldn’t. It’s not that he’s a bad guy. It’s not that he doesn’t have many of the leadership qualities that could really help this team. Sanchez had the opportunity to seize the starting job early in camp and failed to capitalize.

Siemian has shown incremental improvements throughout the offseason and training camp and now, because he appears to be the safer bridge quarterback, has a real shot at starting against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 8.

As fans clamor to see rookie quarterback Paxton Lynch start the season, please understand that he is certainly the future of this team. That future may come sooner than the Broncos had initially intended, but for now, unless both Siemian and Sanchez fall completely flat on their face this Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams, Lynch will have to wait a few games to get his chance as the starter. His upside is far greater than his counterparts, but he’s not ready to start. It’s often hard to preach patience to a fan base in Denver that has expectations of excellence, but if you want it done right, Paxton needs more time.

Based on Saturday’s preseason loss to the 49ers and the performances by the quarterbacks, there shouldn’t be any surprise that Kubiak opted to stay with the same starter for the next exhibition game. Trevor Siemian gets another shot to secure the starting job and Broncos Country will, once again, hope he (or someone) decides to play like he doesn’t intend to let it go.

Follow Ryan Edwards on Twitter: @ryanedwards1043.