The Denver Broncos have their QB of the future in Bo Nix, but will the team have to make a huge decision with their backup QB? The Broncos have kept three QBs all year. Bo Nix has been the starter since Week 1. Jarrett Stidham has been the backup all year, and Zach Wilson has been the emergency third-string QB all year.
It is common for teams to carry three QBs total between their roster and their practice squad, so the Broncos are not alone in having three QBs rostered, but the big issue here is that both Stidham and Wilson are free agents in 2025.
The Broncos' QB decisions are not over yet...
And right now, it does not seem likely that both will be brought back. Zach Wilson is a former second-overall pick and had a failed tenure with the New York Jets. The Broncos traded for him this past offseason in an interesting move.
The team also kept Jarrett Stidham, as Stidham is in the final year of his two-year, $10 million deal he signed with Denver. In fact, Stidham was one of the first moves that Sean Payton made, as he had previously spoken highly of the QB. In 2023, Stidham played three games, racking up 496 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and a 87.7 passer rating.
Jarrett Stidham is a known commodity at this point - he's a fine backup with a low ceiling in that regard. However, the enticing thing with Zach Wilson is that he is a former second overall pick and just oozes potential. Wilson is a few years younger than Stidham, so between Wilson's draft pedigree and his youth, would the Denver Broncos prefer to bring him back?
With how highly Sean Payton had previously spoken of Stidham, you have to wonder if Payton wants to bring him back, but you also cannot ignore the appeal of Zach Wilson being the backup QB. Furthermore, with how many teams will be in the QB market this coming offseason, there is a possibility that Wilson, with a year playing for the Broncos under his belt, gets a healthy bridge QB contract from some team for a year, perhaps approaching the $10 million that Sam Darnold got.
So then another wrinkle in this potential issue is if the Broncos would be willing to pay around $10 million to retain Zach Wilson? If you ask me; the Broncos would prefer to retain Zach Wilson, but there are so many other factors at play that makes this potential decision a major one for the Broncos in 2025.