The 15 minutes of fame for Jarrett Stidham are about to expire

The clock is about to strike midnight on the 15 minutes of fame for Denver Broncos QB Jarrett Stidham.

After what we saw on Sunday in Indianapolis, he’ll be lucky to make the team’s final 53-man roster.

No, it’s not that Stidham played all that poorly. His best chance at putting points on the board was undone by costly penalties and then Stidham was later charged with an interception after running back Samaje Perine decided to play volleyball with the football.

But Stidham only getting two series with the starting offense, 11 plays and seven pass attempts should tell us all we need to know. Head coach Sean Payton wasn’t serious about Stidham potentially being the team’s starter this year. He was there simply to make Bo Nix “earn” the job, which the rookie certainly has.

Just like last year when Payton benched Russell Wilson for Stidham, it wasn’t because he thought the journeyman was the savior of the franchise. It was because Payton simply didn’t like Wilson. All that nonsense about Stidham being a “spark” was exactly that, nonsense.

He just happened to be the next man up behind Wilson.

And now there’s a new Wilson in the fold, with Zach Wilson also playing well against the Colts. The former No. 2 overall pick is the same age as Nix, so there might still be some untapped potential that Payton is willing to explore.

That’s the cold reality for Stidham, that unless Payton decides to keep three quarterbacks, his time with the Broncos could be ticking toward zero. You better believe Stidham might know that as well, after his performance at the podium last week where he piled on Nix for nearly 90 seconds.

Jarrett Stidham, on Bo Nix’s rookie responsibilities:

“He’s gotta carry our pads; that’s mandatory. Pretty much everything that goes wrong, I blame him. … At whatever point we decide to do his rookie dinner, I will be getting a nice bottle of wine or something that he’s gonna… pic.twitter.com/6ekWcAYTtL

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) August 7, 2024

Some found Stidham’s comments funny or acceptable. Openly admitting to hazing was actually the correct takeaway. Nix shouldn’t have to buy Stidham a nice bottle of wine and full meal. He’s played in 60-plus college games and is 24-years-old. It’s a waste of time that the future of the Broncos has to go through random freshman initiation like getting blamed by Stidham for everything that goes wrong.

It’s not the flex that Stidham thinks it is that he once got his haircut by Tom Brady. No one in Broncos Country thinks Stidham is the starter now or in the future because the GOAT put a pair of scissors through his hair.

It came off as smug from Jarrett Stidham, knowing what we all now know after what happened Sunday in Indy. He never had a legitimate chance at winning the starting job, and it’s mostly because Nix looks like he has the chance to be special.

Payton didn’t want to put the pressure on the rookie by naming him the starter in Week 1 earlier than he had to. Instead Payton has kicked that can down the road. Waiting all spring and most of the summer before he’ll likely do it next week after Nix starts against the Packers.

There’s a clear role for Nix on the 2024 Broncos and beyond. The same can be said for Wilson. However for Stidham, it doesn’t make since to keep him on the roster as the No. 3 QB.

Plus, if the Broncos cut Stidham, they can save themselves a cool $5 million. That’s significant money, especially because every little bit helps after the monster dead cap hit they’re taking on Russell Wilson’s contract.

It’s nothing personal with Stidham, although he made it slightly personal with Nix, it’s just the business of the NFL. If a player can’t help you win this season, and there’s no real path to a future with the team, then why delay the inevitable?

Jarrett Stidham will be a footnote in the search to replace Peyton Manning, much like plenty of other QBs before him. And Nix will hopefully be the answer.