Stokley: Broncos QB Siemian out 5-6 months rehabbing shoulder

Trevor Siemian may not see the practice field most of the offseason, 104.3 The Fan’s Brandon Stokley reports, as the Denver Broncos quarterback could need five to six months to rehab from January shoulder surgery.

Stokley said sources told him Siemian suffered a Grade 5 AC joint injury in his non-throwing shoulder, which required surgery after the Broncos season ended in early January, and due to its severity he could miss significant practice time.

“What I heard was he had a Grade 5 AC sprain, which is a very, very significant injury. He played through a lot of pain, had surgery on that, and it’s going to be a five- to six-month rehab,” Stokley said. “If you go six months, that puts you into June. And you might not see Trevor Siemian this offseason.

“He might not take a snap until training camp.”

Dr. Jene Bramel, a staff writer focusing on injuries for FootballGuys.com, categorized a Grade 5 AC separation as a “high velocity injury” more commonly associated with a car crash than a collision sport.

“(I’m) not sure I’ve heard of this grade in a football player,” Bramel said.

Patrick Smyth, Broncos vice president of public relations, responded to Stokley’s report early Friday afternoon, saying that Siemian would be ready for the start of OTAs in April.

The plan remains for Trevor to be ready to go for the start of OTAs as he recovers from a procedure on his non-throwing shoulder. https://t.co/Vnk2NPhnYw

— Patrick Smyth (@psmyth12) February 24, 2017

Should Siemian miss significant time, it could make an impact on the competition between him and 2016 first-round draft pick Paxton Lynch.

“He might not have any reps under his belt under Mike McCoy’s system until training camp, which I think is a big setback for him if you’re in a quarterback competition with Paxton Lynch. And Paxton is going to be getting the majority of the snaps,” Stokley said.

“So now, do you have to look elsewhere? Do you need to bring in another quarterback? Do you re-evaluate your stance on Tony Romo?”

Romo, who lost his starting role with the Dallas Cowboys to NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Dak Prescott, was eyeing Denver as his top landing spot should he be traded or released, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported in January.

Was asked about #Cowboys’ plans for Tony Romo in 2017. No secret, #Broncos are his No. 1 spot. I’m told DEN is not inclined to trade for him

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 15, 2017

And the Broncos, according to 9News Broncos Insider Mike Klis, would reportedly be interested in Romo, but only if he is released.

But even as late as last week, ESPN’s Ed Werder, who reported that sources told him Romo expected to be released instead of trade, said the Houston Texans might be a better fit for the veteran gunslinger.

Siemian’s injury makes things just that more complicated, as Stokley said last week that he believed there wouldn’t be a spot for the third-year quarterback on the Broncos roster should Denver ink Romo.

“Why would you have him on the roster and have another quarterback in the mix? I just don’t think it makes sense for the football team, for the locker room. You don’t want those kinds of distractions,” Stokley said. “You don’t want that hanging over Paxton Lynch anymore.

“You’ve got your guy Tony Romo, and he’s going to be your starter. Paxton Lynch backs him up, and that’s the way you go.”

Werder, however, said that having both Lynch and Siemian on the roster provided only “beneficial” depth at the position behind Romo, with both young quarterbacks with several years remaining on their relatively inexpensive rookie contracts.

Check back to denversports.com as this story develops.

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