The defending champion Denver Broncos have named 2015 seventh-round pick Trevor Siemian as the team’s starting quarterback for Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers.
Once a backup at Northwestern and a heavy underdog in the Denver’s three-man quarterback race, Siemian will now take on NFL MVP Cam Newton as Peyton Manning’s successor for the current Lombardi Trophy holders.
Here are some amazing facts about Denver’s new starting quarterback:
– Siemian wasn’t sure he’d ever play in the NFL. After a shaky senior season that ended with a torn ACL, he thought the dream could be over.
“I had my surgery, I think, Dec. 7. I’m thinking about what is going to happen next,” Siemian said, via MMQB. “My senior year wasn’t going the way I thought it would. It started getting a little bit better toward the end, but then I got hurt. I interned in commercial real estate in college and I interned in medical device sales, and I was thinking, ‘This is why I went to Northwestern. I have a chance to get a job if making it to the next level doesn’t work out.’”
Per @JamesPalmerTV, Trevor Siemian had a regular person job lined up before the draft because he didn’t know what his future was. Now…
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 29, 2016
– According to NFL.com, Siemian will be the first quarterback from Northwestern to start in Week 1 since Otto Graham in 1955.
– Siemian will make a little more history when he starts under center against the Panthers.
Trevor Siemian is the only QB w/ 0 career passing attempts to take over a defending @SuperBowl champion in Week 1. pic.twitter.com/mVfSZasZDy
— NFL (@NFL) August 29, 2016
– Siemian will earn less for the entire 2016 season than Peyton Manning made per game last year.
Peyton Manning made $882,353 per game last year. Trevor Siemian will make $525,000 on the year.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) August 29, 2016
– Siemian played one down as a rookie in 2015. It was a kneel down during a 34-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in late December. One carry for minus one yards represents his complete regular season stat line in the NFL. Here it is:
Watch Trevor Siemian’s entire NFL career in this one GIF pic.twitter.com/nSAr0LTw2n
— The MMQB (@theMMQB) August 29, 2016
– Over three preseason games in 2016, Siemian has completed 27 of 43 passes for 285 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. His passer rating is 70.4.
– Siemian was hardly an all-star at Northwestern. He started only 14 games for the lowly Wildcats, while throwing 27 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. He completed 58.7 percent of his passes, and never finished a season with more than 11 passing scores. Put his college numbers into the NFL’s passer rating formula, and he would have finished his time at Northwestern with a 76.5 mark.
– An overtime win over Notre Dame helped head coach Gary Kubiak discover Siemian.
“I always go back and look at all the others and watch a couple of games to see if there’s a reason maybe we should pursue looking at this guy further,” Kubiak said, via Mike Klis of NBC 9 News in Denver. “I watched him play Notre Dame, go to Notre Dame and win the game there.’’
– He’s also a Super Bowl winner. Take that, Dan Marino.
The Broncos host the Panthers next Thursday, Sept. 8 for the NFL’s regular season kickoff game.