Trevor Siemian will make his first professional start in Thursday night's 2016 NFL Kickoff.
If not for a few twists and turns last month, it could have been Case Keenum starting for the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl 50 rematch with the Carolina Panthers.
Denver kept tabs on Keenum during the preseason, going as far as to conduct trade talks with the Los Angeles Rams, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, via a source informed of the discussions.
The Rams would have required a "huge pick or player compensation" to move their Week 1 starter, Rapoport added, but the Broncos never offered a high enough draft pick or a talented cornerback such as Aqib Talib or Bradley Roby.
Broncos coach Gary Kubiak has a familiarity with Keenum going back to their days with the Houston Texans, when the former University of Houston standout started eight games over Matt Schaub during the 2013 season.
Once Siemian showed enough in training camp and preseason action to instill confidence in Denver's coaching staff, though, the Broncos pulled the plug on trade talks.
It's hard to imagine general manager John Elway surrendering a high draft pick or a valuable chip on his dominant defense for a physically limited quarterback who was winless in eight starts under Kubiak three years ago. The same quarterback was free for the taking in November of 2014 when Keenum was a street free agent for nearly two months after being waived by the Rams.
Even if rookie Paxton Lynch ends up displacing Siemian as the starter within the next couple of months, Kubiak and Elway ultimately reached the sensible conclusion on Keenum's value.
