3 huge mistakes the Denver Broncos made this offseason

Three huge mistakes the Denver Broncos made this offseason
2. Signing Jarrett Stidham to be the backup QB

I guess I should trust Sean Payton's judgment here, but I'm still wondering what the heck they were doing giving Jarrett Stidham a $10 million contract to be Russell Wilson's backup. Payton is very high on Stidham and has heaped on praise, but he's got just one good start under his belt, and people seem to be clinging onto that.

Stidham has not proven to be an effective QB in the NFL, and I think Denver signed lower end backup here. If Wilson does need to miss a game or two in 2023 because of injury, is Stidham really someone we can trust to win a game or two? I think instead of signing the former Raider, the Broncos should have taken a chance on someone with a higher ceiling and who has had much more experience under their belt.

Two names that stuck out to me are Baker Mayfield and Carson Wentz. Both QBs are up and down but have shown at times the ability to be franchise QBs in the NFL. What would have been super encouraging is them being able to play in a Sean Payton offense, so my thought there is that Mayfield or Wentz would have been able to channel some of their best football with Payton. Payton has a pretty extensive history of getting solid production out of castaway quarterbacks. Both Mayfield and Wentz have a much higher ceiling than Stidham, too.

Mayfield obviously signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but Wentz is still a free agent. I'd have felt much better about the QB room if it was Wilson/Wentz instead of Wilson/Stidham