Although Trevor Siemian anchored Denver Broncos quarterback position last year and came into the offseason ahead of Paxton Lynch, the two are entrenched in a competition for the starting gig this season.

Andrew Mason, senior digital reporter for denverbroncos.com, does not see an end to that battle in the near future. In fact, he thinks it hasn’t really even begun.

Mason joined Renaud Notaro on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 and explained why he sees this being an extended competition.

“Really, I don’t think the competition at quarterback begins until the start of training camp,” Mason said. “This is kind of all prolonged, it’s installing the offense. We obsess over the details on an everyday basis, but it’s still only setting the table for what’s to come in training camp. Each day of OTAs corresponds to a day of training camp. So when you get to training camp, that’s when you’re doing everything for a second time. That’s when you’re expecting better results than what you’ve seen when you’re first installing it right now.”

Because OTAs are more of a walkthrough than anything else, there is little evidence suggesting one quarterback is more ready than the other. Instead, those signs may come once the Broncos make it into preseason play when more competition starts to take place.

“Sometime in August is my guess,” Mason said as to when the competition might be settled. “I think you’d like to have it by the third preseason game so you can go through that dress rehearsal week knowing who your guy is going to be in week one. But I could see it being open after that.”

Listen to the full interview with Mason, including his analysis of the two quarterbacks up to this point, in the podcast below.

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Catch The Final Verdict with Notaro and Jacobs every Monday-Thursday from 6p-8p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.