Denver has a weird relationship with its quarterbacks. Honestly, it’s a city of extremes. You either retire a god like John Elway, or you become a footnote in a decade-long "carousel" of names that fans would mostly like to forget. Since 1960, the Denver Broncos past QBs list has grown into a massive roster of over 40 different starters. Some stayed for 16 years. Others, like Kendall Hinton—a wide receiver forced into the role during a COVID-19 emergency in 2020—lasted exactly one game.
It’s been a wild ride. If you grew up in the 80s or 90s, you were spoiled. If you started watching after 2015, you’ve basically spent a decade watching a revolving door of "veteran saviors" and "first-round hopes" fail to stick.
The Era of the Titans: Elway and Manning
When people talk about the greatest Denver Broncos past QBs, the conversation starts and ends with two names. Everyone else is playing for third place.
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John Elway is the franchise. Period. He didn't just play; he defined the city for 16 seasons. Taken first overall in 1983 after a legendary "I won't play for Baltimore" standoff, Elway went on to start 231 games. He racked up 51,475 passing yards and 300 touchdowns. But statistics don't tell the story of "The Drive" against Cleveland or the "helicopter" dive in Super Bowl XXXII. He lost three Super Bowls early in his career, which led some to wonder if he’d ever win the big one. Then, he won two back-to-back and walked away at the absolute top.
Then there’s Peyton Manning. People forget how big of a gamble that was in 2012. He was coming off four neck surgeries. The Colts let him go. Denver signed him, and he delivered the most prolific offensive season in NFL history in 2013: 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns. His arm was basically a noodle by the time they won Super Bowl 50, but his brain was still ten steps ahead of every defense. He finished his Denver stint with a 45-12 record.
The Guys Who Almost Made It
Between the Elway and Manning eras, there was a guy named Jake Plummer. "Jake the Snake" is probably the most underrated player on the Denver Broncos past QBs list. He went 39-15 as a starter. He wasn't always pretty—he threw a lot of picks—but he won. He led them to an AFC Championship game in 2005. Mike Shanahan eventually benched him for a rookie named Jay Cutler, a move that still bothers some old-school fans today.
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Cutler had a cannon. He could throw a ball through a brick wall, but his attitude and a messy falling out with coach Josh McDaniels ended his Denver tenure after just three seasons. He was traded to Chicago, and Denver entered its first real period of instability.
The Post-Manning Carousel: A Brutal Decade
Since Peyton Manning rode off into the sunset in early 2016, the Broncos have been searching for a pulse at the position. It’s been rough. Honestly, "painful" is a better word.
Trevor Siemian was the first to try. A seventh-round pick who actually played decent football, going 13-11. But he wasn't the "franchise." Then came the draft busts. Paxton Lynch was a first-round pick who looked more comfortable playing video games than reading a zone blitz. He started four games. Total.
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Then there were the "bridge" veterans.
- Case Keenum: Signed after a miracle run in Minnesota, went 6-10 in 2018.
- Joe Flacco: Looked completely "checked out" during his 2-6 stint in 2019.
- Teddy Bridgewater: Steady but "safe," led the team to a 7-7 record in 2021 before getting hurt.
- Russell Wilson: The biggest trade in team history. It was supposed to be the second coming of Manning. Instead, it was a disaster. Wilson went 11-19 over two seasons, and despite a statistical "bounce back" in 2023 with 26 touchdowns, the fit with Sean Payton was toxic. The team eventually took a record-breaking dead-cap hit just to make him go away.
Statistical Leaders of Denver Broncos Past QBs
If you look at the raw data, the gap between the top and the middle is staggering. This isn't just about winning; it's about longevity.
| Player | Starts | Record | Yards | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Elway | 231 | 146-80-1 | 51,475 | 300 |
| Peyton Manning | 57 | 45-12 | 17,112 | 140 |
| Craig Morton | 64 | 41-23 | 11,895 | 74 |
| Brian Griese | 51 | 26-24 | 11,763 | 71 |
| Jake Plummer | 54 | 39-15 | 11,631 | 71 |
Craig Morton deserves a shoutout here. Before Elway arrived, Morton was the one who finally made the Broncos relevant, leading them to their first Super Bowl appearance (XII) in 1977. He was a tough old-school signal-caller who stabilized a franchise that had been a laughingstock for most of the 60s.
The Weird and the Wild
You can't talk about Denver Broncos past QBs without mentioning Tim Tebow. Was he a good "quarterback" in the traditional sense? No. He completed 46.5% of his passes. It was ugly. But the 2011 "Tebow Time" season was one of the most electric stretches in sports history. That 80-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas to beat the Steelers in the playoffs? Absolute magic.
And then there’s the AFL era. Frank Tripucka was the team's first real star. He was so respected that his number 18 was retired—until he personally gave Peyton Manning permission to wear it.
What We’ve Learned From the QB History
Looking back at the long list of Denver Broncos past QBs, a few patterns emerge. First, Denver rarely develops their own stars. Elway was a trade. Manning was a free agent. Morton was a trade. Whenever the Broncos try to "build" through the draft (Lynch, Lock, Tommy Maddox), it usually ends in tears.
However, the recent arrival of Bo Nix in 2024 has changed the vibe. In his first two seasons, Nix has already started climbing the all-time leaderboards, recently cracking the top 10 in passing yards and touchdowns. He's showing a level of stability that hasn't been seen in the Mile High City since Manning left.
If you're tracking the history of this position, here's the reality: Denver is a "win-now" town. The fans have zero patience for "rebuilding" years because they've seen what Hall of Fame greatness looks like.
To truly understand the Broncos' trajectory, you have to watch how they handle the draft moving forward. The "veteran band-aid" approach—signing guys like Flacco or Wilson—has proven to be an expensive failure. The current regime seems focused on the "Shanahan-style" system: high-percentage throws, mobility, and avoiding the "hero ball" mistakes that plagued the Drew Lock era.
If you want to stay updated on the current roster or dive deeper into the specific stats of the 70s era, checking the Pro-Football-Reference team page is the best way to see the game-by-game breakdown of every man who has ever taken a snap under center for the Orange and Blue.