10 backup options for Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos in 2023

The Denver Broncos may have renewed optimism for Russell Wilson under new head coach Sean Payton, but expectations have been effectively tempered after Wilson's rather disastrous 2022 season. Although the Broncos have no choice but to buy into Wilson making progress in 2023 because of their financial commitment to him, they also have no choice in the 2023 offseason as it relates to bringing in a competent contingency plan at the position.

To me, this means the team must bring in a high-upside type of backup quarterback. Ideally, it will be someone with prior starting experience but it won't ideally be someone who has a low ceiling. Still, at this point, all options are on the table, including the "boring" ones. The Broncos don't need competition for Russell Wilson, but they do need someone who can push him, who can be an asset to the QB room, and who could benefit by being with this coaching staff which has made quarterbacks plenty of money through the years.

Let's take a look at 10 backup QB options in a very deep 2023 NFL free agent class at the position that could end up in Denver in 2023 and beyond.

Top 10 backup QB options for the Denver Broncos in 2023

1. Sam Darnold (free agent, Panthers)

It's not going to be everyone's personal brand, but I really like the idea of Sam Darnold coming to the Denver Broncos more and more. I know it's not 2018 anymore, and I realize John Elway is not making the decisions (Elway apparently loved Darnold in the 2018 NFL Draft process), but Darnold might be the best possible option when it comes to:

- Prior starting experience
- Age (only 26 in June)
- Price? Darnold is a clear reclamation project at this point

After sitting out most of last season recovering from injury, Darnold came out in the final six games of the season and helped the Panthers compete for a division title. In his first start of the year -- against the Broncos -- Darnold looked really good. He has looked good in a couple of appearances against the Broncos, come to think of it.

Darnold also just so happens to have been teammates for a couple of years with Broncos new QB coach Davis Webb as members of the New York Jets. To me, this is the best case scenario for the Broncos. Getting Darnold, who is not yet 26, coming off a strong finish, on a multi-year deal to play for Sean Payton?

That's the move.

2. Taylor Heinicke (free agent, Commanders)

When you talk about the potential of backup quarterbacks, few options are as enticing as former Commanders starter Taylor Heinicke. Heinicke's NFL journey this far has been as a journeyman, but he has settled in the last couple of years as a high-quality backup and somewhat high-floor starting quarterback.

He helped the Commanders in 2021 when they made the postseason and gave Tom Brady and the Bucs all they could handle. He brought them back into the playoff race this past year after Carson Wentz went down with an injury. He has one of the best overall shoe games in the NFL. Okay, maybe that only matters to me.

The fact of the matter is, we saw a clear uptick in production from the Commanders' receivers when Heinicke was in the lineup. He's done well with Scott Turner coaching him basically since he came into the league, which just so happens to have been with the Minnesota Vikings back in 2015. The Vikings had Heinicke from 2015-17 before he started really bouncing around the league with New England, Houston, and Carolina.

His biggest opportunity came in Washington where he completed 64 percent of his passes in two seasons with 32 touchdowns, 21 interceptions (over 25 games) as well as 409 rushing yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns.

Given his history with the Vikings, there's a connection in Denver to general manager George Paton. I could see Sean Payton loving Heinicke's game overall given the fact that he has tremendous athleticism at the position and could be a truly perfect backup option to Russell Wilson.

Teams would be wise to pick up Heinicke as a bridge starter this year but if he signs somewhere as a backup, Denver would be a great spot.

3. Jameis Winston (possible cap casualty, Saints)

As of right now, the New Orleans Saints have yet to make Jameis Winston available. The writing seems to be on the wall given the Saints' salary cap situation and the fact that they basically benched Winston for Andy Dalton last year.

If -- perhaps when -- the Saints let go of Winston, he will instantly become a strong option for the Denver Broncos. As you'll find with almost every single one of the players on this list, there is a direct connection between Winston and Broncos head coach Sean Payton.

After Winston threw 30 interceptions (seriously) for the Buccaneers in the 2019 season, Tampa Bay let him go and he signed with the Saints. He developed for a year under Sean Payton and then-starter Drew Brees, and he got the chance to take over the operation in 2021. When he did, he looked like a completely different player.

Winston's 2021 season included the highest TD percentage of his NFL career (8.7 percent) and the lowest interception percentage of his career (1.9 percent) before he ultimately suffered a torn ACL in the seventh game of the year.

Given the success Winston had with Sean Payton, you can't help but think he might want to work with him again if given the opportunity to do so.

4. Baker Mayfield (free agent, Rams)

Dating back to the 2018 offseason, many Denver Broncos fans have wanted the team to find a way to land Baker Mayfield. Mayfield was obviously the no. 1 pick of the 2018 NFL Draft after winning the Heisman at Oklahoma, and he had plenty of early success with the Browns. But that early success was short-lived.

Mayfield fell out of favor in Cleveland, and might soon be on his fourth different NFL roster in the last 12 or so months. The Browns held Mayfield hostage in the 2022 offseason, refusing to trade him until the last possible second, when they sent him to the sinking ship that was the Carolina Panthers. After a rough go with the Panthers, Mayfield shockingly hit waivers during the 2022 season and wound up getting claimed by the Los Angeles Rams and Sean McVay.

With the Rams, Mayfield did pretty well, all things considered. He did especially well against the Denver Broncos, who could have used the jolt he brought to the lineup while Russell Wilson was out with a concussion.

At any rate, the Broncos now have a chance to bring Mayfield into the fold as Russell Wilson's backup, which is an intriguing possibility. The question here is whether or not Mayfield's history with Davis Webb will come into play. Once upon a time, Mayfield and Webb were teammates at Texas Tech where Webb told Mayfield to go get him some towels during a practice in the rain.

Unless Mayfield is still upset about something that happened almost a decade ago, this remains a possibility. But perhaps the two can have a good laugh about it and find a way to work together. If the towel thing is still an issue for Mayfield (or Webb), he's probably not the right guy for the job.

But I like Mayfield's ability to come in and be a jolt if you need him to be as a backup quarterback.

5. Marcus Mariota (free agent, Falcons)

Have you noticed a theme with the top five guys on this list? Only one of them was picked lower than third overall in their respective draft class (Heinicke, undrafted). There are players who were taken with the top three picks in the NFL Draft who are 30 or younger hitting free agency at the game's premium position.

Those are the types of upside moves you should be willing to make as a general manager, and I think George Paton will look to do so in the 2023 offseason. The Denver Broncos need a quality backup behind Russell Wilson, but is Marcus Mariota -- who did pretty well as a 13-game starter for the Falcons last year -- willing to take a guaranteed backup job in 2023?

I seriously doubt it. But he's among the possibilities as of right now and you may have already guessed, but he's also got a connection in Denver. Broncos passing game coordinator John Morton -- who was with Detroit this past year -- was previously on the offensive staff with the Raiders (2019, 2021). Mariota was Derek Carr's backup in 2020 and 2021, so Morton is a clear connection between Mariota and the Broncos.

Again, the biggest question here is whether Mariota would even want to take a backup job again after getting benched for Ryan Tannehill in 2019 and paying his dues with the Raiders for two seasons. There will be clearer paths to playing time than in Denver, but if Mariota is willing to come to Denver, he's undoubtedly one of the top options.

6. Jacoby Brissett (free agent, Browns)

Just like Marcus Mariota, Jacoby Brissett is an option for the Denver Broncos as the backup to Russell Wilson at this point only because he hasn't signed elsewhere yet. He's an option until he's not, right? I get asked a lot about Brissett and I just don't see him coming to the Denver Broncos.

But we do need to bring him up as an option because there's a non-zero chance here at the beginning of March.

Brissett doesn't have a serious connection to Denver as of right now but he does have some significant connections elsewhere in the league that could lead to a starting job in 2023. He's obviously connected to Frank Reich in Carolina having started for him when they were together with the Colts. He has a connection to Las Vegas and Josh McDaniels, who was part of drafting him in 2016 out of NC State. He also has a connection to Cardinals OC Drew Petzing as the two worked together in Cleveland this past year.

Where do the Broncos fall on Brissett's list of possibilities? Likely very low. He showed in Cleveland this past year that he deserves a shot to start in 2023 and I think he will. If the Broncos could land him for a reasonable price?

That would be an absolutely huge pickup but the cost to acquire Brissett is doing to be in the double-digit millions per year, probably on the low-end starter range. Again, he's an option until he isn't, but the likelihood of this happening is close to zero.

7. Teddy Bridgewater (free agent, Dolphins)

Back to reality, back to the options that realistically exist for the Denver Broncos. It feels weird to say that Teddy Bridgewater, the Denver Broncos' starter for the majority of the 2021 season, is a more likely option here in 2023 than someone like Jacoby Brissett or even Marcus Mariota. But that's right about exactly where we are.

The Broncos traded for Bridgewater in the 2021 offseason as a way to appease Vic Fangio with a veteran QB, and get someone with a seemingly high floor in the building. Bridgewater helped the Broncos stay competitive when he was healthy but unfortunately, injuries have been a serious problem and concern throughout Bridgewater's career.

That includes this past year in Miami, where Teddy was obviously the backup to Tua Tagovailoa. Despite having one of the "best" backups in the league, the Dolphins were still forced to start Skylar Thompson in the playoffs. Is Teddy Bridgewater an option? Yes.

He has worked with Sean Payton and Joe Lombardi before as a member of the New Orleans Saints and he parlayed that into a three-year, $63 million deal with the Panthers. Obviously, Bridgewater has done well for Payton in the past and he was also drafted by the Vikings when George Paton was still in that front office.

The connections are there for Teddy to be the Broncos' backup and he'd probably come at a reasonable price given his injury history. The question is, even as a backup, can you really count on him with his injury issues?

8. Brett Rypien (free agent, Broncos)

You can't say you're considering all of the options unless you're truly considering all of them, right?

Although Brett Rypien is a restricted free agent in 2023, there's a chance the Broncos could bring him back for a really reasonable price to be Russell Wilson's backup yet again. Rypien has been with the Broncos since he came into the league in 2019 and he's progressed as a backup over the last couple of years. You know what you're getting in Rypien out there, and he adds value to your quarterback room.

Rypien would likely have plenty of suitors if the Broncos decided to non-tender him and let him hit unrestricted free agency. I think Rypien is really well-respected by coaches and teams around the league have tried to poach him before. He has the advantage of already having worked in the QB room with Russell Wilson, but his major disadvantage right now is never having worked with this coaching staff.

I'm sure the front office would vouch for Rypien, but how much will that matter? I do think the Broncos might look to a higher-upside option than Rypien at this point. he seems like he could be a great option for a team like Miami, San Francisco, New York, and potentially a host of others. If I'm the Broncos, I'm looking for someone with a bit more upside and experience.

Rypien definitely deserves some kudos for the work he's done in Denver but it might be time for both sides to move on.

9. Gardner Minshew (free agent, Eagles)

Gardner Minshew's performance in Denver still haunts my dreams, and I'm sure many of yours as well.

Minshew magic or Minshew mania, whatever it was called, seemingly began in Denver that fateful day over three years ago. While the starter for the Jaguars, Minshew posted some impressive numbers including a nearly 68 percent completion rate, 37 touchdowns, and only 11 interceptions in 23 games.

The Philadelphia Eagles traded for Minshew when Urban Meyer was running the Jaguars like a circus clown, and he's been a quality backup for them for the past couple of years. Minshew has the kind of abilities as a backup quarterback that you covet.

He's high-energy. He's got the playmaker gene. Even if he's not the most well-rounded player, he's a guy who can make plays outside the pocket and use his legs to avoid pressure. He's got a good feel for navigating the pocket and he sees the field well.

At the age of 26 going on 27, Minshew is also still a younger player at the position. He has done enough in his first four NFL seasons to get looks as a possible bridge starter in other NFL cities but he would be a great backup option for Russell Wilson in Denver.

10. Anyone else

This part of the list can be your "fill in the blank" segment of the list. Maybe you're still a Carson Wentz apologist at this point, and you feel like Sean Payton and this coaching staff could reel him in as a backup and contingency option.

Maybe you are a big fan of Pro Football Focus' favored son Andy "Red Rifle" Dalton. Maybe you're a big fan of the idea of a Drew Lock reunion in Denver. Speaking of reunions, what about Case Keenum coming back and reuniting with George Paton? It's funny, Sean Payton said at the Scouting Combine that the "Minneapolis Miracle" is the ultimate trump card between he and Paton right now.

Whatever the case, it's clear that there are tons of options available in free agency. There are even more players that could be considered good options here but who don't maybe have a ton of experience, like Easton Stick of the Chargers who spent the last two years working with Joe Lombardi, the Broncos' new offensive coordinator.

The really great thing about bringing in a wide-ranging coaching staff is the fact that you now have connections to most of these quarterbacks that are hitting or are expected to hit free agency. The Broncos will be able to invest in this position without hopefully breaking the bank, and they should be able to get someone who wants to work with Sean Payton and this staff to potentially benefit their career in the near future.