Sean Payton has made the call at quarterback, and the Broncos’ depth chart is set heading into the regular season: Bo Nix at No. 1, Jarrett Stidham at No. 2, and Sam Ehlinger at No. 3.
Payton confirmed after Wednesday’s practice that Stidham will be the immediate backup behind Nix.
“Yeah, he would be now,” Payton said.
That decision ends a camp battle that had gained steam in recent weeks. Stidham came into the offseason carrying the sting of his AFC Championship performance, a 10-7 loss to New England in which he completed 17 of 31 passes for 133 yards with one touchdown and one interception after replacing the injured Nix. It was a rough outing, and Broncos Country remembered it.
Still, Stidham answered with a solid camp and preseason. He started Denver’s opener against Atlanta and helped push the Broncos to a 27-7 win.
In the preseason finale against Minnesota, he got the first crack again and guided Denver to 10 points over his two drives before turning things over to Sam Ehlinger. Over the three preseason games, Stidham gave Denver the kind of steady play teams want from a backup quarterback.
Ehlinger made his loudest push Friday night against the Vikings. After an interception on his first drive, the former Texas quarterback settled in and went 15-of-20 for 233 yards and three touchdowns, helping Denver score on four of his next six possessions. It was enough to make the race look tighter than expected.
Payton addressed the possibility of carrying all three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster.
“The great thing is, we’re able to bring three on game day,” Payton said. “There’s a pecking order.”
That pecking order is now clear. The Broncos kept all three quarterbacks on the active roster instead of risking Ehlinger on waivers, a move that makes sense after the depth issues that surfaced when Nix went down in the playoffs.
Ehlinger will remain in the mix and has earned trust with his Year 2 growth in Denver, but if Nix is unavailable, Stidham is the next man up.
The competition is done. Kansas City is next.
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