After being cut by the Bengals in August, Trevor Siemian waited for the phone to ring for nearly a month.
Finally, after a week of talking back and forth with the team, Siemian received some good news on Tuesday as the Jets signed him to their practice squad to back up Zach Wilson and Tim Boyle.
“It’s a good room,” Siemian said about Wilson and Boyle. “I’m familiar with [Jets passing game coordinator] Coach [Todd] Downing, we’ve crossed over a couple of times. It’s cool to have that relationship.
“It’s a great room, those guys have a good time in there, I can tell. I’m just a fly on the wall right now. Looking forward to getting to know these guys a little bit and really just trying to be the best teammate that I can. For Zach, for Tim, all these guys really.”
Since he was drafted by the Broncos in 2015, Siemian has been a career journeyman. He’s been on seven different teams. That includes the Jets as he backed up then-starter Sam Darnold in 2019. Following Darnold’s bout with mononucleosis, Siemian started one game for the Jets that year. But a huge blow by Myles Garrett caused an ankle injury that ended Siemian’s season after completing just three of six passes.
“Weird, but very weird,” Siemian said about returning to the Jets. “But it’s good to see some familiar faces. Some of the people around the building, it’s been cool.”
Last May, Siemian signed with the Bengals and competed with Jake Browning to be the Bengals’ backup quarterback throughout training camp. After the third preseason game, Browning eventually won the job, and the Bengals released Siemian during final cuts.
After a month of waiting for another opportunity, Siemian used his time working on his movements and throwing, along with spending time with his family.
“I got three little kids at home, Siemian said. “I’ve been taking care of them. My wife has been getting me to work. Working out, throwing, I knew it would be somewhere at some point, it was just a matter of when.
“So, just staying ready.”
Siemian has passed for 7,027 yards, 42 touchdowns, and 28 interceptions in six seasons. However, he has a 13-17 record as a starter, as he hasn’t won a game since 2017 when he was with the Broncos.
Jets coach Robert Saleh has remained committed to Wilson as the team’s starting quarterback following Aaron Rodgers’ Achilles tear in Week 1. However, Wilson has struggled during his first two seasons in the league, which has carried over to this year.
Wilson has thrown for 467 yards in three games, two touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s completed 52.4% of his passes. He also has a quarterback rating of 57.
Siemian will be inactive during the Jets game on Sunday Night Football versus the Chiefs as he’s still learning offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett’s system.
With the way the Jets offense has struggled — scoring 10 points each of their last two games along with Wilson’s play, Siemian could eventually start sooner rather than later. But that will depend on how fast he learns the Jets playbook.
“Tough to say, a week, or two weeks,” Siemian said on how quickly he can learn the Jets offense. “As a backup quarterback in this league, it’s kind of your challenge, it is how fast you can pick things up and I’m anxious to get started and get the verbiage, get to know my teammates a little bit. Definitely not overnight.
“I really don’t have a lot of expectations. No promises were given or anything like that. These guys have two quarterbacks, they needed a third quarterback. I had some good conversations and here I am. I’m excited to get to work.”
Wilson has received a lot of criticism for his play, as even Jets legend Joe Namath called his play “disgusting.”
Siemian said he wants to be a reliable resource for Wilson as much as he can.
“A lot of times, the starting quarterback has a lot going on,” Siemian said. He’s getting great coaching I know that.
“Whatever I can do to help him. Maybe I can offer a different perspective on some things. But again, right now, I’m just a fly on the wall in there, trying to learn these guys and everything as quickly as I can.”
