Brock Osweiler reunites with Denver Broncos in time of need

The Denver Broncos have made the signing of quarterback Brock Osweiler official, and he will begin practicing with the team in preparation for week one…

At last we saw Brock Osweiler in Denver, it was a prime time game featuring his new team (at the time) the Houston Texans going up against Trevor Siemian and the Broncos. Denver prevailed in what turned out to be a pretty underwhelming return for Osweiler to the city where he’d spent the previous four years, and where he was expected to be the franchise quarterback.

At last we saw Osweiler in a Broncos uniform, he was parading around the city of Denver celebrating a Super Bowl title, one that might not have been possible without his contributions as a backup quarterback.

Osweiler stepped in as the starter for the Broncos in the 2015 season, but was replaced after a turnover-filled first half against the San Diego Chargers in week 17 by Peyton Manning.

The rest of that story is history, but it doesn’t hurt to go through it again, because the entire thing is absolutely astounding.

Osweiler was in line to take over for Peyton Maning as the Broncos’ quarterback of the future, but there was a bidding war for his services. Whether Osweiler would admit it or not at the time, he was definitely upset about being benched in week 17, and he probably should have been. But the Broncos made a call, and Osweiler decided to stick it to them in free agency by taking a very similar deal he was offered in Denver by the Houston Texans.

The Texans and Osweiler never met before negotiating and agreeing to a deal.

Osweiler’s first year in Houston was not good, other than the fact that the defense carried their team to the playoffs and Osweiler and the offense made enough plays (I guess…) to not ruin it.

At one point during last season, Osweiler was benched for Tom Savage.

The Texans were so displeased with their investment in Osweiler, they traded him along with a second round pick to the Cleveland Browns, just to dump his salary off on another team.

The Browns have the money to do so, and getting an extra second round pick was an easy choice for them.

Not surprisingly, Cleveland approached this offseason as though Osweiler was not part of the long-term plans for the team, and they spent a second round draft pick on DeShone Kizer, who won the starting job.

Osweiler was let go at the time of final cuts, and it just so happened that the Denver Broncos had a little situation going on of their own.

With a quarterback battle between Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch concluded, the Broncos only needed their top two guys to stay healthy to go into the season with two quarterbacks, and that would be the end of the story. No matter how well Kyle Sloter played.

Well, Sloter played great, and Lynch got hurt. The Broncos decided to go with a veteran backup instead of the inexperienced Sloter, and he didn’t even sign back to the practice squad. Sloter left for the Vikings, and Lynch is expected on the injured list for at least five weeks.

Osweiler needed a job, and the Broncos needed a quarterback.

Throwing their dramatic history to the wind, the Broncos and Osweiler came together for a reunion, one that was needed for both sides. Now, Osweiler’s deal is official and he will take the field to practice with the team that drafted him and once believed in him as a franchise quarterback.

This time, he will not be ahead of Trevor Siemian on the depth chart.