Broncos to start training camp with three-QB rotation

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Zach Wilson is still in the race.

Despite not getting any first-team repetitions during minicamp last month, the former No. 2 overall pick of the New York Jets remains in the Denver Broncos quarterback derby, as Sean Payton said Tuesday that the competition remains open among Wilson, returning passer Jarrett Stidham and No. 12 overall pick Bo Nix.

But the three-quarterback rotation may not last long during training camp.

“Yeah, we’ll mix it up again, obviously won’t stay that way for the long term,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said at a camp-opening press conference Tuesday. “But as we get started, we’ll keep you posted and eventually we’ll settle into the routine we want.”

Payton declined to specify whether he would pick a starter directly from the three-man rotation or whether he would trim the battle to two quarterbacks, subsequently selecting one to start.

Sean Payton, on the quarterback rotation being among all three QBs on the roster at the start of training camp:

“We’ll mix it up again. Obviously won't stay that way for the long term."

As for it going from 3 QBs to 2: “We'll keep you posted. I'm not going to sit here and …” pic.twitter.com/0CSKMSZK05

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) July 23, 2024

“We’ll keep you posted,” Payton said, cutting off a question on the topic as it was asked.

“I’m not going to sit here and lay out like, here’s how it goes, because I think the mistake made is deciding how it goes. Organically, this — my experience — I think we’ll see a rotation initially and then we’ll move on from there.”

Last month, Bo Nix and Jarrett Stidham split the repetitions during the two-day minicamp. During the three weeks of on-field organized team activities that preceded minicamp, Nix, Stidham and Zach Wilson rotated among the first, second and third units on a day-by-day basis.

Later in the press conference, Payton was asked about the notion of balancing learning about the quarterbacks he possesses — particularly with two who are new to the system in Nix and Wilson — while evaluating them on the basis of which one would provide the best chance to defeat Seattle in Week 1.

“Well, I don’t think you balance finding the guy to win against Seattle. I don’t think that makes sense,” Payton said. ” I think we’re looking to find the guy to beat Seattle and we’re going to find that player.

“How do I balance the day? How do I balance the schedule? How do I balance the reps? That’s all part of what we do relative to teaching and the teaching progression. I think the same thing exists, though.

“Look, the number one goal is to find the right 53 players here for our team. Certainly there’s a lot of focus on the quarterback position because there’s open competition there.

“But I don’t look at it as finding the balance.”

And at the moment, Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson all remain in contention to receive the first snap on Sept. 8.