When Broncos general manager John Elway re-signed Brock Osweiler in September, he said the veteran quarterback was “going to need a little football rehab” after his 18-month roller-coaster around the NFL.

Once Peyton Manning’s groomed successor, Osweiler accepted riches from the Texans and experienced the extremes of the NFL, as a welcomed free agent signing one day and a vilified backup soon after. In the offseason, he was cast off to Cleveland, where few careers in recent history have thrived, then cut from the team, with a healthy salary but no clear future.

So Elway brought him back to again be a backup and a safety net. But now, Osweiler’s stint in rehab is over. “I’m checking out,” he said jokingly on Wednesday.

The former second-round pick is, once again, the Broncos’ starting quarterback, taking over for Trevor Siemian after three consecutive and frustrating losses fueled by turnovers.

After lengthy discussions with Elway and his coaching staff, coach Vance Joseph asked Osweiler and Siemian to report to the team’s Dove Valley headquarters Tuesday evening to inform them of the decision. Then the coach told the rest of his team Wednesday morning.

“It came down to what’s best for our football team and, quite frankly, what’s best for Trevor’s future,” Joseph said Wednesday. “The team was OK with it. They trust Brock. He’s been here before under the same situation. It’s very similar. This is why we signed him.

“I’m hoping that this move can simply stabilize the offense so that we can get into a fair game, so we can win some football games. … We can’t see where we’re at until we stop turning the football over.”

Osweiler will start Sunday against the 7-1 Eagles in Philadelphia, a move that seemed overdue in recent weeks but still jarring given the team’s start and Osweiler’s past year.

Following their 29-19 loss at Kansas City on Monday night, during which Siemian tossed three interceptions and the team totaled five turnovers, Joseph said a quarterback change was “a possibility,” a departure from his previous insistence that Siemian would remain the starter.

Siemian admitted after the game he was pressing and sometimes looking for the big play instead of the right play. Joseph admitted their plan simply wasn’t working.

Ironically, the reasons Siemian lost the job were the same ones that helped him win it twice in consecutive offseasons: his decision-making, his ball security, his consistency.

That continued through the first two weeks of the season, as the Broncos owned the best rushing offense (159 yards per game), sat atop the NFL in third-down percentage (56.7 percent) and total touchdowns (nine), and were tied for third in scoring (33 points per game). Siemian led the league passing touchdown percentage (10 percent) through two games and ranked seventh with a 106.9 passer rating — higher than Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Carson Wentz.

But over the last three weeks the Broncos have averaged a league-low 9.7 points per game and totaled a league-high 11 turnovers. Siemian has accounted for seven of those turnovers (six interceptions and one fumble lost), while compiling a passer rating of 64.1.

“I’m disappointed obviously. I think as a competitor you want to play. I want to play,” Siemian said. “But I understand coach Joseph has a job to do and do whatever he thinks is best for the team.”

In his seven starts total this season, Siemian had 10 interceptions, two lost fumbles, nine touchdown passes and was sacked 25 times. Only Cleveland’s DeShone Kizer and Carolina’s Cam Newton had more interceptions (11) through Week 8.

“Certainly last game I kind of felt like I was trying to make something happen, especially at the end there,” Siemian said. “But it’s tough to say. A lot of the mistakes I’ve made, they’ve been off-schedule and when I’ve gotten out of the pocket. So it’s something I’ll learn from and hopefully clean up.”

It became clear the team needed a change — and one they had seen before.

Osweiler was the only viable option of the team’s collection of quarterbacks, all Broncos draft picks. Former first-round pick Paxton Lynch is still on the mend from a shoulder sprain, and Joseph strongly hinted Wednesday that rookie Chad Kelly will remain on the non-football injury list for the rest of the season.

For Sunday, Osweiler is their guy. If he plays well, he will remain their guy.

“Brock is a pro’s-pro. He is one of the first guys here, last guy to leave,” Joseph said. “We talked last night and he went right to the film room and brought in a table full of questions for (offensive coordinator) Mike (McCoy) this morning. He’s been around the best in the business. He knows how to prepare. As far as the offense, he’s got it.”

And his first job is basic.

“I’m being told to protect the football,” Osweiler said. “And that’s something that I think all quarterbacks and all skill guys know when they come into the NFL. You have to protect the football. The saying is, ‘Ball security is job security.’ If you protect the football, you’re going to stay out there on the field.”

The Broncos re-signed Osweiler to a one-year deal in September after his whirlwind 18 months that landed him in Houston as a handsomely paid free agent, then to Cleveland via trade and back to Denver shortly after. The deal was a bit of coup for Denver, since the Browns are on the hook for about $15.3 million of his $16 million salary this year. Osweiler is earning a veteran’s minimum of $775,000 from the Broncos. Related Articles Jackson: Silence at empty Broncos, NFL stadiums never sounded so terrible

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In his seven starts as a Bronco in 2015, when he filled in for the injured Manning, the Broncos were 5-2 and Osweiler had nine touchdown passes, five interceptions, one fumble lost and took 20 sacks.

But his 14 starts in Houston were riddled with highs and extreme lows as he recorded 14 touchdowns and 16 interceptions, was replaced late in the season by Tom Savage, then later regained the starting job for the postseason.

The roller-coaster ride came with lessons, he said, ones perhaps Siemian is learning now.

“I think when players get in trouble sometimes is when they make the game bigger than what it is,” Osweiler said. “And yes, it’s a very complex game, it’s a very fast game, there’s a lot going on, there’s calls, there’s audibles, there’s side adjusts, there’s hots. But when you can slow the game down and, like coach said, just manage it, take care of the football, find completions, find ways to move the sticks. You don’t always have to take the big play.

“When you have that approach and you stack up a lot of good plays, you’re going to have good results at the end of the game.”

Now both he and the Broncos are back in a familiar situation. The second Brock Osweiler era begins Sunday.

“I’m sure a lot of people are surprised by this,” Osweiler said. “Very rarely does a player leave to go to a different team and he’s back on his previous team within a year’s time, let alone a quarterback. But again, I’m not the story. I’m here, I’m ready to play football, I know this team’s ready to go out there and play a good clean game. And that’s where our focus is.”

Then and Now

A look at Brock Osweiler’s record as a starting quarterback, first in 2015 when he took over for an injured Peyton Manning in Denver, then in 2016 when he signed with Houston.