In what could be interpreted as having already won the backup competition, Josh Johnson will start at quarterback for the Denver Broncos in Saturday's preseason contest against the Buffalo Bills.
The announcement came Thursday via head coach Nathaniel Hackett, who reaffirmed that little-to-no Broncos starters (i.e. Russell Wilson) are expected to play, leaving Johnson to split signal-calling duties with Brett Rypien — not unlike last week's exhibition opener versus Dallas.
“Yeah, I think we are going to go with Josh, again," Hackett told reporters.
It was during that game when Johnson, a 36-year-old on his 17th professional team, seemingly sewed up the full-time No. 2 job, completing 16 of 23 attempts for 172 yards and two touchdowns in Denver's 17-7 victory over the Cowboys.
Rypien, meanwhile, posted 113 scoreless yards on 8-of-18 passing, his QB rating (65.3) nearly half of Johnson's (120.2).
"Both guys have done really good," Hackett said. "Josh had a really good game the other night. [It] wasn't too big for him. I think he's come out of here and he's done a good job. [He] had a couple things that he needs to improve on but it's everybody. Everybody has to improve. I do, those guys do and you just want to keep watching those guys battle and have a healthy competition because ‘Ryp’ has done a good job. The idea is who can we get the most consistent? We want to be sure that we're not turning the ball over, we’re making smart decisions and moving the chains.”
Johnson will have the chance to officially nail down his roster spot at Highmark Stadium and do so against Buffalo's first-string defense — including, perhaps, new linebacker Von Miller, who joined the team in March after winning Super Bowl 56 with the Los Angeles Rams.
“That's the best evaluation you can possibly get," Hackett said of facing the Bills' starters. "We want to see who can come out there and play versus the best in the league. It's an unbelievable opportunity for those guys to step up and show what they can do.”
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