Analyzing each potential QB room for the Denver Broncos in 2024

The Denver Broncos need to get their long-term QB on the team, and they need to do it immediately. Of all the realistic QB rooms for the team in 2024, let's take a look at the most logical and break them down. This might be the most pivotal offseason for the franchise in quite some time. Sean Payton needs to get the QB position right for the Denver Broncos.

He tried to make it work with Russell Wilson in 2023, and at times it did, but more the most part, it did not. Wilson does not fit the type of offense that Payton wants to run, but I do not think it is a foregone conclusion that the team moves on from him in 2024.

It's probably likely that they do, but there is a non-zero possibility that he is under center for the Denver Broncos in 2024. Anyway, let's breakdown the most logical QB rooms for the Broncos in 2024.

1. Russell Wilson + Michael Pratt (Tulane)

So, the Broncos efforts to try and renegotiate Wilson's contract was actually going to give Wilson more of a chance to be with the team in 2024. Right now, Wilson's current contract, if left untouched, guarantees is 2025 salary of nearly $40 million. The Broncos obviously do not want to pay that, and that was likely a reason why the team sent him to the bench late in the 2023 NFL Season.

There's also this blurb from Tom Pelissero, who indicates that Wilson's best situation in the NFL might just be with Denver in 2024, so that could create some leeway in Wilson's camp agreeing to some sort of revised contract

If Wilson returns in 2024, I don't think the Broncos would rush at taking a QB high in the 2024 NFL Draft. The team seems to already be connected to Tulane's Michael Pratt, and it looks like he is currently slated to be a mid-round pick. Pratt does possess the qualities that Sean Payton desires in a QB, so selecting Pratt to sit behind Russell Wilson makes a bit of sense.

2. Jimmy Garoppolo + Michael Pratt

I think this could be a QB room for the Denver Broncos in 2024. Both Jimmy Garoppolo and Sean Payton went to the same college; Eastern Illinois. Garoppolo also signed a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders last offseason but was benched for rookie Aidan O'Connell. It's likely that the Raiders cut Garoppolo, making him a free agent, and like Pratt, Garoppolo fits Sean Payton's offense pretty well.

Garoppolo can work the middle of the field and is pretty accurate. Jimmy G has played on schedule throughout his career, most notably with the San Francisco 49ers from 2017-2022. Garoppolo has also played a ton of football in the regular season. Beyond that, he's got playoff starts and a start in the Super Bowl.

If the Broncos are looking for a high-end bridge QB, there isn't one better than Garoppolo. Jimmy G has also sat behind a young QB before, so if it at some point the Broncos pivot to Michael Pratt, it's not like Garoppolo will be in uncharted territory. Of his 63 career starts, he's won 43 of them. That's good, folks.

I do think the Denver Broncos could sign Jimmy Garoppolo and still take a QB in the first round. The 49ers did something similar in 2021. Garoppolo was their starter and the team ended up drafting Trey Lance in the 2021 NFL Draft. So, if you swap Pratt with Bo Nix or JJ McCarthy, I think that could easily happen.

3. Bo Nix or JJ McCarthy + Jarrett Stidham

This might be the boldest move by Sean Payton. Right now, I get the sense that the Broncos would pick Bo Nix or JJ McCarthy over Michael Penix Jr. Check out this tweet from Benjamin Allbright:

I think Nix and McCarthy would end up being the preferred choices for Sean Payton over Michael Penix Jr. Well, what I think we could see in 2024 is the Broncos selecting a QB in the first round and plugging him into the room alongside Jarrett Stidham. Heck, the Broncos could probably trade down from their 12th overall pick and might be able to land Bo Nix.

if this report from Allbright is indeed true, Denver may not be able to get McCarthy even in trading down. Anyway, With Jarrett Stidham being under contract through 2024 and him having been immersed in the offense for a year, I could see Payton sticking with him in the QB room instead of trying to find someone else.

This may allow for an easier transition into the NFL for Nix or McCarthy. Stidham isn't good, but the offense didn't look much different compared to Russell Wilson's starts in 2023. And that, folks, is why the Broncos need a QB.

If this were the case, I don't think Payton would at all hesitate to start the rookie in Week 1.