The defending Super Bowl champions could end up handing the keys to a rookie quarterback, after all.

On the heels of Saturday's preseason loss to the San Francisco 49ers, in which both Mark Sanchez and Trevor Siemian struggled with turnovers, Denver Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak indicated that first-round pick Paxton Lynch is still being considered for the starting role.

"He's always been in the mix," Kubiak told reporters, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. "I just told you guys that he's behind the other two from a knowledge standpoint, but we've been out there competing every day. Everybody is in competition to play."

Kubiak talking up Lynch's chances following a pair of less than impressive performances from the other two quarterbacks is likely a coincidence. In all probability, the Memphis product was never going to be ruled out in a competition that lacks a clear-cut starter.

Should Sanchez and Siemian continue to underwhelm, the perceived drop off in turning to a rookie signal-caller to begin the season will continue to grow less daunting.

"I'm going to play the guy that I think is best for our team," Kubiak added. "We have three guys out there battling. Obviously (Lynch) is a young kid. He did some really good stuff tonight. He made some mistakes, too. I think I've continued to tell you guys that he is behind the others from a knowledge standpoint as far as running the group. Obviously we need to keep coming, keep bringing him along. We're going to keep working here, find the guy that we think is best for our football team and go from there."

Denver hasn't announced a starter for the third exhibition game, which typically serves as a regular-season dress rehearsal. Lynch getting the nod, or even seeing a bump in workload, would suggest he's making a strong case to lead the way in Week 1.

Regardless of when he sees the field for meaningful games, though, Lynch is undoubtedly Denver's quarterback of the future. A strong combination of arm strength and athletic ability gives him the ideal skill set to run Kubiak's offense. Lynch connected on 15-of-26 passes for 113 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in his most extended NFL action to date Saturday.