Broncos QBs since Peyton Manning: Every starter since Hall of Famer retired in 2016

Ever since Peyton Manning retired in 2016, after winning his second Super Bowl overall and his first with the Denver Broncos, the franchise has gone through upheaval every year at the quarterback position. It is a notoriously difficult place to fill at the best of times, but it is especially difficult when someone is trying to replace an all-time great like Peyton Manning.

We take a look at every starter who has played for the Denver Broncos in that position since Peyton Manning's retirement. As this has been such an unstable position for the franchise after Peyton Manning, in most seasons, they have had multiple starters in the given position. So, for the purposes of clarity, only those who started most games are listed at the top and others who played in those seasons are mentioned separately.

Denver Broncos quarterbacks since Peyton Manning retired

2016 and 2017 - Trevor Siemian

Right after Peyton Manning retired, Brock Osweiler, who had started some of the games the previous year with Peyton Manning in their Super Bowl-winning season, left for the Houston Texans to become their starter. That opened up the field for third-choice Trevor Siemian to compete with rookie Paxton Lynch and veteran Mark Sanchez, and Siemian eventually became the starter.

In 2016, he played 14 of 16 games for the Denver Broncos (the last two weeks were quarterbacked by Paxton Lynch) and established himself as the first choice. Even though the Broncos missed the playoffs, he finished with a passer rating of 84.6 that was higher than Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler from the previous season. Over the last six weeks of his season from Weeks 8 to 14, he averaged more than 300 yards, behind only Tom Brady and Kirk Cousins. He was named a Pro Bowl alternate but did not accept the invitation due to the shoulder surgery he went ahead with after Week 14.

In 2017, now firmly established as a starter but under new coach Vance Joseph, he began the season strongly, and the high point was a game against the Dallas Cowboys where he threw four touchdowns. In Week 6, he suffered a shoulder injury. Then, over the next few weeks, his production declined. He was benched in favor of the returning Brock Osweiler in Week 9, who was himself then relieved by Paxton Lynch in Week 12. After Lynch was injured in that game, Siemian got another chance to lead the Broncos. But another shoulder injury in Week 15 spelled the end of his career with the Broncos as Brock Osweiler relieved him in that game and started in Week 16.

2018 - Case Keenum

After the upheaval of the previous season, when the Broncos had three quarterbacks trading places, head coach Vance Joseph chose to reunite with former Houston Texans quarterback Case Keenum, who they traded from the Minnesota Vikings. They stuck with him throughout the season and he started all 16 games as the Broncos went 6-10.

He threw for 3,890 yards with a 62.3 completion rate. He had 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, with a 81.2 passer rating. He was traded to the Washington Redskins for a seventh-round pick in 2019.

2019 - Joe Flacco

In 2019, the Denver Broncos decided to go with Joe Flacco, who had won one Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens. There were eerie parallels with Peyton Manning as they plumped for a veteran quarterback and former Super Bowl MVP. He was named the starter and had the job until he faced a neck injury in Week 8 against the Indianapolis Colts.

In those eight games that he started, he had 1,822 passing yards, six touchdowns, five interceptions, and an 85.1 passer rating. He was subsequently released by the Broncos and went on to sign with the New York Jets, where he still is currently.

After Joe Flacco was injured, he was replaced by Brandon Allen for three games before Drew Lock stepped in for the final five games of the season. The rookie quarterback finished with 1,020 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and three interceptions in those five games and equalled John Elway's franchise record for most wins by a rookie in Broncos history. His four wins came in just five games compared to the 10 taken by Elway.

2020 - Drew Lock

For his performances the previous season, Lock was named the starter for 2020. In Week 2, he injured his shoulder and would not return until Week 6. During that period, Jeff Driskel and Brett Rypien started one game each. In Week 12, due to a COVID outbreak among the quarterback corps, running back Phillip Lindsay started under center.

Lock's performances in his second season were not up to standard. Case in point, he had 16 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. This was the joint highest in the league , tied with Carson Wentz, despite Lock only playing 13 matches. His 57.3 completion rate was the lowest among all quarterbacks with, at least, 150 passing attempts that season.

2021 - Teddy Bridgewater

In 2021, Teddy Bridgewater, the 2015 Pro Bowler, joined the team from the Carolina Panthers. He beat out Drew Lock to become the starter, though Lock started three games in each of which Bridgewater was out injured. In the 13 games that he started, he threw for 3,052 yards, 18 touchdowns, and seven interceptions for a passer rating of 94.9 with a 66.9 completion percentage. At the end of the season, he was traded to the Miami Dolphins as the Denver Broncos acquired Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks.

2022 - Russell Wilson

Russell Wilson joined from the Seattle Seahawks. In a deal that sent Drew Lock to Seattle, along with other players and draft picks, the future hall-of-famer joined the Denver Broncos for a five-year, $245 million deal. The Broncos will hope to replicate the success they had with Peyton Manning when they last had a future hall-of-famer as their quarterback.