Saints sign QB Trevor Siemian
Mike McCartney of Priority Sports tweeted this evening that the New Orleans Saints have signed quarterback Trevor Siemian to their active roster.
Lately, Siemian has been a journeyman quarterback for the past several years. He's landed on the rosters of the Tennessee Titans (2020 - practice squad), New York Jets (2019), and Minnesota Vikings (2018). Siemian had extended time as the Denver Broncos starting quarterback from 2015 to 2017.
The Northwestern University product completed 498/841 passes for a completion rate of 59.2%. One of the reasons the Broncos released Siemian was his inconsistency by tossing 30 touchdowns, but he also had 24 costly interceptions. His career passer rating is 79.6.
On Sunday, New Orleans will be without the services of Drew Brees (Injured Reserve) at quarterback. Reports have Taysom Hill projected to get the nod over Jameis Winston as the starter for the Atlanta Falcons game.
I speculate that Siemian's signing would have him serve as the emergency quarterback for New Orleans in case of injuries to Hill and Winston in the Falcons contest.
Our colleague, Chad Jensen, at the Mile High Huddle on Sports Illustrated shared this analysis of Trevor Siemian:
Trevor Siemian owns a special place in Gary Kubiak's heart. Perhaps seeing himself in Siemian, Kubiak pounded the table for Denver to take him in the seventh round of the 2015 draft.
Two years later, Kubiak strong-armed Siemian as the Broncos' starter after Peyton Manning won the Super Bowl and retired. Siemian played well in his first year as a starter but the Broncos still missed the playoffs and it came at the expense of first-round pick Paxton Lynch not getting the vital experience he needed to develop.
Lynch ended up being a bust, but much of that had to do with Denver's handling of him and Kubiak's stubbornness to cling to Siemian. However, even after Kubiak stepped down following the 2016 season, the Broncos mistakenly allowed another 'open competition' between Siemian and Lynch, and Siemian being the far smarter QB, easily vanquished the still-raw and underdeveloped Lynch.
SIemian's vast limitations came out in the wash and with gusto in 2017. By the end of the year, the Broncos had seen enough.
Siemian is a solid NFL backup. He's a fail-safe. He can competently step in and keep an offense afloat if called up.
But any team who asks him to do that for more than 1-2 weeks will eventually rue their decision.
Great kid. Super-smart. Bigger heart than people realize. But just not very talented athletically.
We will bring you more details about the Trevor Siemian signing and the New Orleans Saints.
