Say it ain’t so!

Let us check in on two former Broncos quarterbacks who both ended up on the Minnesota Vikings roster after being fan favorites for the Broncos just one season ago. Those two quarterbacks obviously being Trevor Siemian and Kyle Sloter.

First, let us do a quick rewind on these two players. Trevor Siemian is a former seventh-round pick for the Broncos and he started 24 games for them during that time including being the week one starter twice for them. He was hyped up by the media and a segment of the fan base but never lived up to that potential and was eventually benched in 2017 because of poor play. The Broncos ended up trading him to Minnesota for a 5th round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

As for Sloter, he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Broncos in 2017 and served as the teams, third-string quarterback. During the preseason in 2017, he played sparingly because the Broncos were evaluating Paxton Lynch and Trevor Siemian, but when he did play, he looked better than both quarterbacks. He quickly became a fan favorite, but he was waived by the Broncos during the cuts period. They hoped to stash him on their Practice Squad, but he was claimed by the Minnesota Vikings.

Now, both quarterbacks are fighting to be the backup to Kirk Cousins who the Vikings signed to a mega-deal this past winter and it appears things are going well for quarterback, Kyle Sloter.

Trevor Siemian was absolutely dreadful for the Vikings on Friday night. The former Broncos starting quarterback went 4 of 8 for 3 yards. This performance by Siemian led to this observation from our friends at the Daily Norseman.

As a former starter with many games of experience in the regular season, you’d expect a guy like Trevor Siemian to show more command. More ability. He should be a little above the second stringers he’s playing against. But he didn’t. He didn’t look like a starter. He didn’t look like a guy you want starting at QB for your team either. And that’s the point.

He was inaccurate. He looked poor under pressure. He did not lead second stringers, he let them down. There was a lack of energy. Quite simply, his game was not up to the task.

We all this Siemian a lot during the two forgettable seasons he started for the Broncos.

Much like last season for the Broncos during the preseason, Kyle Sloter came in after Siemian(or Lynch) and cleaned up the mess they made. Sloter finished the game by going 11 of 15 for 85 yards and 2 touchdowns and to the victory. Here is the assessment our friends at the Daily Norseman made of Sloter after he led another game winning comeback.

By fairly obvious contrast, as soon as Kyle Sloter took the field in each of the first three Vikings preseason games, there was energy and leadership. There was the will to win. There was a QB looking to make plays, not just play out his time.

And Sloter showed presence. Poise. Better scrambling ability. Better acccuracy. And he made plays. Every game. What plays did Siemian make? Zero. Nada. Bupkis.

Sloter led drives. He came through in the clutch. He delivered when he needed to. Yes, he went down twice late on back side blitzes, but he managed to escape from several others and made plays too. Siemian never did.

Now the Vikings have a decision to make. Do they make the same mistake the Broncos did and overlook Kyle Sloter and stick with Siemian or do they give him the much-deserved promotion?

This also gives us one more example of just how bad the quarterback position was for the Broncos the past two seasons. The guy who started back to back week one games and started 24 games at quarterback for them is in danger of being demoted to third-string or potentially being cut by the Vikings. Meanwhile, we all know the days for Paxton Lynch are likely numbered in Denver and Brock Osweiler is somewhere being tall and mediocre in Miami.

This is why we need to give Head Coach Vance Joseph a fresh start in 2018. Yes, he had his issues in 2017, but the quarterback position is the most important position in all of sports and his options last season were downright awful. This all led to the downward spiral and a shit of a season that we all witnessed last year.

So let us be thankful that we have moved past these awful times and can find success again with Case Keenum under center. Also, let us hope that Kyle Sloter finally gets the opportunity he really deserves. I was dismissive of his play last year because the Broncos clearly never had him in their future plans, but he should be the Vikings backup quarterback behind Kirk Cousins in 2018.