ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Round and round the wheel has spun behind center for the Denver Broncos this season.
So much so that Sunday's finale against the Kansas City Chiefs means the Broncos will have started Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler and Paxton Lynch at quarterback in consecutive games not once this season, but twice.
"It's been a roller coaster," Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas said. "That's for sure, a roller coaster."
Lynch said Wednesday that he sees what's happening, and that Sunday's game is an opportunity for him to show why he should be included in the hours of quarterback conversations the Broncos' decision-makers figure to have in the months to come.
As the offseason wheel begins to spin, there are three primary paths for the Broncos to take at the quarterback position:
Total revamp, led by a 2018 first-round draft pick: The Broncos have Siemian, Lynch and Chad Kelly (a 2017 seventh-round pick who spent this season on injured reserve) under contract for 2018. The Broncos have spent plenty of time and money getting the lowdown on all of the top 2018 prospects. General manager John Elway already has seen Wyoming's Josh Allen in person during the bowl season; Elway also has a trip to see USC's Sam Darnold on Friday on his current schedule and a possible trip to the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day to see Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield. Mayfield also will be at the Senior Bowl, so the Broncos would get plenty of opportunity to meet with him then, as well. The Broncos have done their due diligence, with more to follow, on any quarterback on the board that they believe has the moxie and talent to be a walk-in starter. In this scenario, Siemian could provide Peyton Manning-trained mentorship or the Broncos could re-sign Osweiler to do that, with Kelly as a project and a possible No. 3 on the QB depth chart -- much the way Siemian was as a rookie, behind Manning and Osweiler in 2015.
In-house, with veteran backup added: In this scenario, the Broncos would have decided Lynch has indeed showed them enough to once again get a shot at the starting job. Lynch has lost back-to-back training camp battles to Siemian and has just four career starts, including the one he will get Sunday against the Chiefs. The Broncos would be betting that Lynch could jump from a player who has struggled to one who can get them back to the playoffs. In this scenario, players such as Josh McCown (38 years old), Drew Stanton (33) and Ryan Fitzpatrick (35) would all fit the backup bill, as would Osweiler, who knows the offense and has said how much he has enjoyed being back in Denver.
Total revamp, led by proven veteran: This is the checkbook option, with a contract that would affect Denver's salary cap and what it could do elsewhere on the depth chart. There are potentially two big quarterbacks set to hit the open market -- the New Orleans Saints' Drew Brees and Washington Redskins' Kirk Cousins. The Redskins could use the franchise tag on Cousins a third consecutive year to keep him off the market, but Brees' situation is quirkier. He is a sports icon in New Orleans, but he signed a one-year deal for 2017 that includes a no-trade clause as well as a provision that the Saints cannot use a franchise tag on him. The contract also carries over $18 million against the cap for the Saints in 2018, no matter if Brees is on the roster or not. Even if Brees re-signed with New Orleans, that $18 million is added to any new deal for the cap charge next season -- a tall financial order for the Saints to keep him. Sam Bradford and Jay Cutler also are former starters who figure to be on the market. In this scenario, the Broncos would likely use another draft pick on a quarterback to sit and learn. They would have to decide what they believe is Kelly's career arc and might be picking among Siemian, Osweiler or Lynch to be the backup behind the big-money free agent.
All of that means, fair or not, Sunday isn't really just another game for Lynch, because after two consecutive playoff misses, time has simply run out on the status quo at the quarterback position.
"We've had three starters all year, not ideal at all," Broncos coach Vance Joseph said after Wednesday's practice. "We have to fix ... that position."