Sean Payton's Forgotten QB Competition Comment Is Worth Revisiting Now

The Denver Broncos are hosting a quarterback competition this summer.

Bo Nix is the undisputed starter, but he's returning from the ankle injury that ended the Broncos' 2025 playoff run prematurely. The quarterback competition will be a battle for the No. 2 job.

That's been Jarrett Stidham's gig for the past three years. And yet, despite having a young franchise quarterback and a seemingly entrenched backup, the Broncos re-signed Sam Ehlinger to a one-year, $2 million deal this past March.

With OTAs kicking off on Tuesday, it's a good time to revisit head coach Sean Payton's recent comment about the competition set to ignite between Stidham and Ehlinger for Denver's QB2 job. On March 31, Payton was asked what he sees in the Broncos' quarterback situation behind Nix, which is a more pressing topic this season because of that ankle injury.

“We see competition," Payton said. "And it wasn’t different last year. There’s nothing that is etched in stone. There just isn’t, and that’s a good thing.”

In other words, "Hey, Stiddy, don't get too comfortable." Payton may say that it "wasn't different last year," but the Broncos had just re-signed Stidham to a two-year, $12 million deal, which meant that he was the understood QB2. Ehlinger showed up in early April of 2025.

Was last summer really a competition between Stidham and Ehlinger? I would say no. In a literal sense, sure, it's the NFL. But it was more a case of Stidham working to justify his job as Nix's backup, more so than Ehlinger truly threatening for the gig.

So what has changed? After all, Stidham has become known as a bona fide 'Payton guy.' One of the first free-agent moves the Broncos made after Payton was hired as head coach in 2023 was signing Stidham to a two-year deal.

When that expired last year, the Broncos re-signed Stidham. With an expiring contract this coming season, though, he may have to really sing for his supper in OTAs and training camp.

Meanwhile, Ehlinger was signed last year after Zach Wilson departed in free agency. Honestly, it was pretty touch-and-go for Ehlinger for the majority of training camp and the preseason.

It took an 11th-hour performance with Ehlinger getting 73% of the snaps in the preseason finale — a game in which Stidham took zero snaps while Nix took 21 — to fully secure himself a place with the Broncos. Ehlinger was still waived at the final roster cut-downs, though he re-signed to the practice squad despite having options to go elsewhere.

In late October, the Broncos promoted Ehlinger to the active roster, where he remained for the duration of the season. Stidham continued as the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart.

What Changed? The AFC Championship Game

Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham (8) reacts against the New England Patriots during the first half in the 2026 AFC Championship Game. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Besides Nix's health status, if I had to put my finger on any one element that has changed since last summer, it would be Stidham's performance in the AFC championship game against the New England Patriots. In fairness, the exceedingly rare and uniquely challenging task of going more than two calendar years since starting an NFL game and then suddenly being thrust into the high-stakes situation of starting in a conference title game can't be overstated.

Stidham stepped up in the face of an unprecedented situation in Broncos history. He deserves credit and some benefit of the doubt for that, especially considering how he went from the cold bench to the starting lineup overnight.

However, Stidham's performance vs. the Patriots left much to be desired. After an encouragingly strong start, leading the Broncos down the field on a five-play, 59-yard touchdown drive on the opening possession, he quickly wilted.

Once the Broncos had to move off their scripted first 15-18 plays in the game plan, that's when the cracks in the Stidham foundation began to show. He would finish the game 17-of-31 for 133 yards and a touchdown, with an interception and a lost fumble.

The lost fumble provided Drake Maye and the Patriots with their one and only touchdown, maximizing a short-field drive that started on the Broncos' 12-yard line. The interception came late, icing the 10-7 win for New England with 2:11 remaining.

Stidham finished with a QB rating of 63.0, which is obviously bad. However, the shocking thing is that it was nearly five points better than Maye's 58.8, which illustrates how winnable this game was for the Broncos if they could have done more offensively.

Also, in fairness, beyond the stakes and high-pressure situation Stidham faced, the weather conditions also played a big role in his performance. With temperatures near 20 degrees at kickoff, it was tough sledding for both teams' passing attacks, which also contributed to the Broncos' defensive dominance, aside from Maye's scrambling.

Then a blizzard descended on the Mile High City in the second half, and passing the ball became really, really difficult. On top of the biting wet and cold, the field conditions were slippery, and guys' hands were stiff. It was the antithesis of 'quarterback weather.'

Does that excuse Stidham's performance? No. I think most Broncos fans believe that if Nix had been healthy enough to start that game against the Patriots, Denver would have advanced to its ninth Super Bowl appearance. But the weather conditions did add to the monumental obstacles Stidham faced.

Stidham has many plausible excuses for his overall lackluster performance when the Broncos needed him most. For Payton and the coaching staff, it had to be agonizing knowing that the defense did more than enough to make this a winnable game without Nix.

Was it enough for Payton to question Stidham's role as the incumbent backup behind Nix? It's hard to say for sure, but unlike years past, Payton is posturing this summer as a competition for the backup quarterback job. Sorry, Coach, but that's a new talking point.

When it comes to coincidences, I'm a staunch unbeliever. Of course, there are the exceptions that prove the rule, but generally speaking, when two unrelated events seem connected somehow, they often are, if you dig deep enough.

That's especially true in the NFL. Payton might not ever come out and say it, but Stidham's inability to answer the bell may have created some serious doubt within the coaching staff on whether he's the best option to back up Nix. At the very least, it may have been enough for the team to want to verify more rigorously that Stidham is the right man to hold Nix's clipboard.

Broncos Love the QB Room

Jarrett Stidham, Bo Nix, and Sam Ehlinger — Denver Broncos quarterbacks Bo Nix (10) and Jarrett Stidham (8) and Sam Ehlinger (4) run from the tunnel for action against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Broncos' shot-callers have often talked about how much they love their quarterback room. Nix, Stidham, and Ehlinger are all very close. Throw in offensive coordinator Davis Webb, and it's been a very tight-knit room since Nix arrived in 2024.

Counting playoffs, Stidham has five career starts in the NFL (1-4), while Ehlinger has three (0-3). Stidham has the slight edge over Ehlinger in experience, bolstered a bit more by his recent taste of the playoffs, but we're talking about a difference of two NFL starts.

Regardless of the Broncos' public optimism about Nix's recovery status, his 2026 outlook remains clouded by that injury, especially since it was the third time he suffered that type of injury to his right ankle. The slight setback in his recovery timetable, due to the cleanup procedure he underwent in late April, only casts further doubt on exactly how ready he's going to be for the regular season.

The Takeaway

You know the old saying: hope for the best, but plan for the worst. That puts a bigger onus on the importance of Broncos' backup situation.

Hence the competition.

Stidham vs. Ehlinger begins on Tuesday, June 2, when the Broncos host their first voluntary OTA session. It'll pick up steam when training camp rolls around in late July.

The Broncos hope they'll have no need to call on their No. 2 quarterback this season for any other reason than a kneel-down because Nix will be healthy. When it comes to a quality backup, though, it's better to have and not need than to need and not have.

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