Broncos may have already decided backup QB competition winner

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton said the team hasn't yet made a decision on the backup quarterback behind Bo Nix, but all signs seem to point to one guy.

Jarrett Stidham.

Unless the Broncos have some surprise up their sleeve at roster cuts -- which is absolutely possible -- Stidham has gotten the majority of 2nd-team reps during training camp, and he's been the first one up during both of the team's preseason games so far. Now, it's being reported that Stidham will start the Broncos' preseason finale against the Minnesota Vikings on Friday night.

Again, all signs seem to be pointing to Stidham.

Jarrett Stidham seems to be the overwhelming favorite for Denver Broncos QB job

In the Broncos' preseason loss against the Packers, we barely saw Ehlinger on the field at all. At least, that's what it felt like. He only threw two pass attempts and was running for his life when dropping back to pass, while Stidham threw 15 passes in the game and ultimately raised some serious questions about whether or not he should be the QB2 behind Bo Nix.

At this point, the only way Stidham won't be named the QB2 for the Broncos is if they have some kind of trade in the works behind the scenes.

The fact that Stidham will have been the first QB up after Nix for all three preseason games (starting two of them with Nix being held out) is the strongest indicator we have at this point. Unfortunately, making a decision like this during a preseason game really makes you wonder whether or not the Broncos are making the right call:

Stidham completely locked into Lucas Krull during an end-of-half situation, and the Packers' safety read the play perfectly. Sandwiched between the strong performance against the Atlanta Falcons in the preseason, we have two games from Stidham in which he makes some highly questionable decisions with the football.

It's one thing to know the offense well and to have a good rapport with the coaching staff, but it's another thing when you can't take care of the football properly. Stidham's gaffe against the Patriots in the first half of that AFC Championship Game loss is about as unforgivable as it gets for a backup quarterback in that situation.

So what are the Broncos doing here?

There had been talk all offseason about Sam Ehlinger getting a legitimate shot to be the QB2 behind Bo Nix. For some of the training camp practices, Ehlinger was the second quarterback up taking team reps. But the fact that he hasn't been able to work with the second unit during any of the preseason games is pretty telling.

What are the realistic outcomes here?

The first one is that Stidham is just the QB2, and the Broncos have already made that decision. Any discussion about not deciding the QB2 at this point is just lip service.

Another potential outcome is that the Broncos aren't doing anything to diminish Stidham's value, because they could save $6.5 million on the salary cap if he's traded vs. $4 million if he's cut.

A third outcome is the Broncos keeping three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, and Stidham having a shorter leash than he did last year.

Door number four is the Broncos trading for someone else and moving on from both Stidham and Ehlinger, which feels like the least likely option of them all.

As we saw last year, the backup QB decision for the Broncos is an important one. When they needed it the most, Stidham couldn't step up for the team. And he's had multiple opportunities to do that. The results we saw against Green Bay were perhaps the most revealing we've seen.

If the QB2 decision is a foregone conclusion in favor of Stidham, I'm not sure the Broncos are making the right call.

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