Trevor Siemian can’t catch a break. The former New Orleans Saints quarterback was tabbed to start for the Chicago Bears on Sunday with Justin Fields out of action due to a shoulder injury, but they may have to go in a different direction against the New York Jets. Siemian suffered an oblique muscle injury while warming up at MetLife Stadium which opened the door for third-string quarterback Nathan Peterman to step into the lineup. Running back David Montgomery was tabbed to be the emergency quarterback.
Siemian started 6 games for the Saints last season, logging more pass attempts (188) than both Jameis Winston (161) and Taysom Hill (134). He wasn’t exactly impressive outside of two clutch wins against division opponents, stepping in after Winston was injured against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to manage a 36-27 win and closing out the year in relief of Hill to beat the Atlanta Falcons 30-20. But Siemian showed he can play in this league and it won him this opportunity with Chicago.
So it’s a shame to see him lose this shot to bad luck with an injury. Peterman has thrown a dozen interceptions against just 3 touchdown passes across 10 games in the NFL (4 starts), whereas Siemian has scored 41 touchdown passes while throwing 27 interceptions during his 34-game career (29 snarts) with four different teams. So if all things were equal and both players were healthy, he would be the easy choice here. Bears media relations say it’s going to be a game-time decision as to whether Siemian or Peterman starts against the Jets, so stay tuned for an update.
