Broncos, Rams Reportedly Discussed Trade Involving Case Keenum in Preseason

The Denver Broncos will open their regular season against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night with quarterback Trevor Siemian starting under center. However, in the preseason, there was a chance another quarterback outside of the organization could have come in and shaken up the depth chart.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Broncos "kept tabs on" Los Angeles Rams quarterback Case Keenum and discussed a deal with Los Angeles during the preseason, but Siemian's performance eventually convinced Denver to end the trade talks.

Rapoport added that Los Angeles would have needed "a huge pick or player compensation" to send Keenum to Denver.

Entering the offseason after their Super Bowl 50 win, the Broncos were left with plenty of question marks at the quarterback position because of Peyton Manning's retirement and backup Brock Osweiler's departure to the Houston Texans via free agency.

In an attempt to remedy the situation, Denver acquired veteran Mark Sanchez from the Philadelphia Eagles in March and selected Paxton Lynch out of Memphis with the 26th overall pick in the draft. 

Siemian, who appeared in one game during his 2015 rookie campaign, was an afterthought, as he hasn't attempted a single regular-season pass in his career.

Keenum hasn't been a regular starter during his four years in the league, but he has more experience than Siemian. In total, he's started 15 games, compiling a 5-10 record with the Houston Texans and Rams. 

Last year with the Rams, he started five games, going 3-2 with four touchdowns and one interception. Much like Siemian, though, Keenum wasn't the favorite to win the starting job after the Rams selected Jared Goff with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

But due to Goff's difficult preseason, Keenum got the job. Meanwhile, Goff won't even dress for the Rams' season opener, per Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times.

While many were surprised by Siemian's preseason performance, cornerback Chris Harris Jr. told the media to watch out for him in May, per Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com:

"

Trevor has a maturity to him. He's kind of the sleeper, I would say. Of course Mark [Sanchez] and Paxton [Lynch] are going to be the headlines, but Trevor knows the offense. He's very comfortable and can throw the ball, too. We've also seen him make big plays in the preseason games under the lights. I wouldn't sleep on Trevor to win the job.

"

The NFL shared Siemian's preseason highlights after the team named him the Week 1 starter:

The Broncos then cut Sanchez, though he quickly signed with the Dallas Cowboys, who were looking for depth behind rookie Dak Prescott after Tony Romo and Kellen Moore suffered injuries.

Siemian will get an opportunity to show the organization and his doubters that he is the correct man for the job after months of speculation over Denver's quarterback situation. However, a shaky start against the defending NFC champions Thursday could put pressure on the Broncos to look for an alternative, whether it be Lynch or someone else. 

Stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.