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The identity of the Broncos’ starting quarterback for the first week of the regular season remains a mystery as does the full list of players who will be under consideration for the role.

Mark Sanchez is the one contender for the job that we do know and it’s not one that appears to have safety T.J. Ward sleeping easily about the direction the team is heading. During a conversation with former NFL running back Maurice Jones-Drew for NFL.com, Ward shared his thoughts on the quarterback conundrum.

“Whenever you don’t have a quarterback, it’s going to impact a team,” Ward said. “But defensively, we have one mindset: No one scores. So [if] we continue to do that, continue to prepare and dominate on the defensive side, then we’ll be all right. But we got to find someone back there. Right now I think we have Mark Sanchez signed and he has some experience in this league.”

Ward and Jones-Drew both broke out in laughter after Ward completed that thought, which doesn’t suggest much faith in the former Jets and Eagles quarterback’s ability to get the job done. Given what they got from the quarterback position last season, though, whatever Sanchez brings to the team could be just fine if Ward and his defensive teammates keep on rolling.