Broncos face a choice at backup quarterback with expiring contracts for Stidham, Wilson

The Denver Broncos had a perfect quarterback dynamic last season. Which is pretty amazing, considering that training camp began with Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson each taking turns guiding the No. 1 offense.

The competition quickly shed itself of Wilson, leaving Stidham and Nix to start the first two preseason games. Nix nudged in front and seized the job.

For Stidham, the frustration in the moment was palpable — and quite understandable. Last summer’s competition might have represented his best chance to become a full-time NFL starter, as the churn of young quarterbacks into the NFL continues.

But he settled into his role as the Broncos No. 2 and supported Nix, overcoming the initial pain of losing the job to handle his role with grace and dignity. Few in the Broncos locker room are as personable as Stidham, and he remained an affable presence, just as he was in 2023.

Jarrett Stidham: “Obviously, I’m going to do whatever I can to help Bo (Nix) get prepared. Obviously, he’s never had a real season like this in the NFL, so, you know, I’m going to help him in whatever way I can and then also be ready to go if I need to be.” pic.twitter.com/9PkpBSIHiK

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) August 26, 2024

Wilson handled his spot as the third quarterback with equanimity. He and Stidham prepared with diligence, as though a chance was imminent. Nix’s good health ensured that it never came.

But through the fire of a summer scrum and the tests of a season came a bond. These three quarterbacks — and their significant others — connected in such a profound way that when the season ended, they vacationed together, joined by right tackle Mike McGlinchey and his wife.

But now the business of the NFL could tear that apart. Stidham and Wilson have expiring contracts and are set to become unrestricted free agents.

One doubts that both Wilson and Stidham would sign on for a situation in which the No. 2 spot wasn’t assured.

Perhaps Stidham’s window to compete for a starting spot may have closed, which could lead him to be a long-term understudy. But as he said in August, days after the quarterback decision came down, “I know I’m a starting quarterback in this league. I have zero doubts about that.”

Wilson the former No. 2 overall pick, might have the chance to compete for a starting job somewhere after a year of what Broncos uber-legend John Elway once called “football rehab” following three eventful and frustrating seasons with the New York Jets.

Wilson got a chance to reset in 2024. But perhaps he may consider returning to Denver to continue the behind-the-scenes reconstruction of his career. In which case, Stidham might be compelled to move on to a clearer spot to be at least the No. 2.

One thing appears certain: This perfectly-calibrated quarterback room is unlikely to look the same two weeks from now.

THE NECESSITY OF GETTING IT RIGHT

For the Broncos, something did not happen in each of the last two seasons that had taken place in seven of the previous eight years: a backup quarterback had to start due to injury to the No. 1 quarterback.

Yes, the Broncos turned to understudy Jarrett Stidham in the final two weeks of the 2023 campaign, but that was by choice. Then, in 2024, Bo Nix started all 17 games, thus setting a franchise record for most regular-season games started by a quarterback in a single season.

(OK, sure, the 17-game regular season has only existed since 2021, but still, it’s another twig to toss upon the fire of accomplishment for Nix in a campaign that was objectively the best for a rookie quarterback in club history.)

Over the long haul, roughly half of the teams will need to start their No. 2 quarterback due to injury at some point during a regular season. Since 2022, 47 teams have started a reserve passer at least once due to injury in a campaign — 49.0 percent. This includes the ’22 Broncos. That’s a reminder of the necessity of the position.

Sean Payton knows all about this, too. His 2019 Saints flourished when Teddy Bridgewater stepped in for an injured Drew Brees, going 5-0. A year later, the Saints went 3-1 in Taysom Hill’s four starts, although one of them was a free space on the board when the Broncos played without a quarterback. In 2021, New Orleans was 4-1 when Hill stepped in for Jameis Winston.

But when Trevor Siemian or Ian Book started, the ’21 Saints were 0-5, and with that, Payton’s final season in black and gold saw the Saints go marching out on the hind end of a 9-8 wild-card tiebreaker.

Few teams are truly prepared to flourish with the No. 3 option, let’s be fair. But in Payton’s final three seasons as Saints coach, they were 12-2 with their No. 2 quarterback. And in all of these cases, the backup had been with Payton for at least one previous season.

This shows the value of keeping one of the two current Broncos reserves around.

Still …

IF THE BRONCOS HAVE TO LOOK OUTSIDE FOR THEIR NO. 2 …

Don’t expect it to be Taysom Hill, even if he does become a cap casualty in New Orleans in the wake of his torn ACL.

Although he hasn’t been a true quarterback option since 2021 — he has thrown just 34 passes since Payton left the Saints — the larger issue is the recovery time from his torn ACL. Hill is expected to make a full recovery, but with the injury occurring late in the season — in Week 13 — a full return to action for the 34-year-old isn’t expected until at some point during the 2025 campaign.

Stidham and Wilson remain the best choices, given their familiarity with the scheme and their relationship with Nix.

But if the Broncos turn elsewhere, would Payton turn again to the type of quarterback he has come to favor when looking for a No. 2: a passer of once-high pedigree in need of a reset, similar to Wilson and Stidham? Bridgewater and Winston — who joined the Saints in 2018 and 2020, respectively — are past examples.

Today, Winston is an unrestricted free agent but sits in a different career spot now than he did five years ago; he’s now heading into Year 11 as a bridge starter or a settled No. 2. Bridgewater is officially a free agent, but after his late-season return to Detroit following his season as a high-school football coach, seems content to be a late-December pickup if he wants back in the game.

Free-agent quarterbacks with CVs more like those of Bridgewater circa 2018 or Winston circa 2020 include Daniel Jones, Trey Lance, Kyle Trask, Mac Jones, Justin Fields and Desmond Ridder, to whom the Raiders declined to give a restricted free-agent tender. And, yes, Drew Lock would fit into that category, as well, coming off of 5 starts for the New York Giants down the stretch.

But Payton has also had later-career veterans as his backups before — including in his Super Bowl season of 2009, when Mark Brunell worked behind Drew Brees. Quarterbacks over the age of 30 who are settled as clear backups and set to hit the market include Winston, Jacoby Brissett, Taylor Heinicke, Marcus Mariota, Carson Wentz, Jimmy Garoppolo, Cooper Rush, C.J. Beathard and a pair of ex-Broncos starters: Case Keenum and Joe Flacco.

But certainly the Broncos’ top option is to have either Stidham or Wilson back — and that is the expectation.