Broncos Working to 'Secure' Backup QB for 2025 Season

INDIANAPOLIS — The Denver Broncos, according to head coach Sean Payton, are navigating a "unique" situation within their quarterback corps. It pertains not to Bo Nix, who's entrenched as the long-term starter, but instead the backup to Nix next season.

Incumbent reserve QBs Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson are both impending unrestricted free agents, putting offensive maestro Payton in something of a bind ahead of the NFL's annual signing period.

“It is a unique room. I don’t know if I have the answer," he conceded Tuesday at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. "Both Zach and Jarrett are free agents, so obviously one of the ‘musts’—if a player is on our board, even if he was with us and is a free agent—both of those show up as orange tags. That is a ‘must’. We have to secure who the backup is. There are probably a few moving parts there, but I was real pleased with the room. Then the uniqueness off the field with those guys getting along well. They really worked together well.”

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Stidham, who inked a two-year, $10 million contract in 2023, appeared in three games last season, taking only 14 snaps behind Nix. He did not attempt a pass. The ex-Tom Brady understudy said in January he's "for sure" interested in re-signing with Denver — something QB1 would likely endorse.

"He’s been great to have all year," Nix said of Stidham last month. "He’s taught me a lot about not only our scheme, but preparation and going against other teams. I expect the same this week. He’s a great guy to lean on, to talk to and get some information from. He works just as hard as I do. We’re out here competing together and wanting to put a good product on the field.”

Wilson was acquired in a pre-draft trade with the New York Jets last April. The former No. 2 overall pick spent 2024 as the Broncos' emergency third-stringer, a project of sorts for Payton, and another experienced sounding board for Nix.

"Zach has been a great addition. Great personality. Those guys get along so well," offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi noted in December.

Stidham and Wilson will traverse a lukewarm QB market that includes Sam Darnold, Justin Fields, Jameis Winston, and Drew Lock when free agency officially kicks off March 12.

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