Jarrett Stidham’s hold on the Broncos’ backup quarterback job may not be as secure as it looked entering the offseason.
The pressure is building after Stidham was put in a difficult spot late last season, when Bo Nix suffered a fractured ankle in Denver’s Divisional Round win over the Buffalo Bills. Stidham then got the call for the AFC Championship Game against the Patriots, started fast, and then made a couple of costly mistakes before being forced to play the entire second half in the worst, and pretty much only, blizzard of the year in Denver.
It was a brutal setup, no question. But the chance was there, and Stidham did not fully seize it.
Now, as the Broncos move through the 2026 offseason program, there have been rumblings that the QB2 role could be open. Sean Payton has not exactly confirmed that, but Stidham’s showing against the Packers in the second week of the preseason only added fuel to the idea that Denver may need a better answer behind Nix.
And if the Broncos go looking, the name that keeps circling back is one they already know well: Zach Wilson.
The fit makes sense on a few levels. Denver does not have the luxury of bringing in a quarterback who has no grasp of the offense.
If Nix goes down, the Broncos need someone who can steady the situation, and ideally someone with at least a little upside. That has been the argument for Stidham all along, but the question is whether he has done enough to justify an $8 million cap hit this season.
Sam Ehlinger has reportedly done the most with his practice opportunities, but the source material makes clear that Wilson simply offers more talent. Denver already saw that firsthand.
The Broncos traded for Wilson before the 2024 season, and when he got preseason chances, he took advantage of them. It was not flawless, but it was enough to help him land a backup job in Miami last offseason and then another opportunity with the Saints in 2026.
Wilson’s profile also looks a lot more appealing financially. He is on a one-year, $1.4 million deal, far cheaper than Stidham, who is also three years older.
The Broncos have already traded for Wilson once. A second swing would not be out of the question.
None of this is the biggest issue on Denver’s plate right now. The Broncos still have problems to sort out with penalties, special teams, and play in the trenches after the loss to the Green Bay Packers. But as far as backup quarterback questions go, this one is hard to ignore.
Wilson already knows the offense. He has a good relationship with the staff and the quarterback room. And if Denver is serious about getting a little more security - and maybe a little more upside - behind Nix, the answer might be sitting with a quarterback the Broncos once let walk.
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Broncos Roster Battle Just Got More Complicated After Packers Loss
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What made the evaluation trickier was the blend of encouraging development and uneven execution across the board. Some players held up better than they had in earlier preseason action, while others left their depth chart cases feeling more complicated after a night that included notable positional shifts and a few standout individual plays. For a Broncos roster trying to sort out the back end, the Packers game only sharpened the competition instead of clarifying it. [Read more 🡒]