A recent report suggested the Broncos would be content with Jarrett Stidham going into Week 1 as the starting quarterback.
While that would probably be an unappealing plan for much of the Denver fan base, the team stood pat as other QB-needy clubs at least added bridge-level options in free agency.
The Broncos did show interest in Sam Darnold, though they are not believed to have made an offer. The Darnold pursuit did provide an indication Sean Payton‘s team wanted to at least give Stidham, who has made four starts over a five-year career, some competition.
That could well come via the draft, as the Broncos will need a long-term answer at a lower rate due to the fallout from the Russell Wilson misstep. But the team is also planning to add a veteran arm as well.
“We’re still in the quarterback market,” Broncos GM George Paton said, via the Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel. “We like ‘Stiddy,’ but we’re going to add. We’re not panicked. We won’t play games for a while. We feel like we’ll add a veteran and we’ll see about the draft.”
Paton said a trade would be an option to add to the position. The Eagles (Kenny Pickett), Cardinals (Desmond Ridder) and Seahawks (Sam Howell) added 2022 QB draftees — all as backup options — via trade this month, while Mac Jones is now Trevor Lawrence‘s Jaguars backup.
Most of the bridge-type QBs or high-end backups are off the board. Darnold (Vikings), Jacoby Brissett (Patriots), Marcus Mariota (Commanders), Jimmy Garoppolo (Rams) and Gardner Minshew (Raiders) are out of the mix. This leaves the Broncos short on options.
Denver, which is eating $85M in dead money over the next two years after cutting Wilson, has options in Ryan Tannehill or Carson Wentz as free agents.
The Jets also are still attempting to unload Zach Wilson, and offers are believed to have come in. Wilson’s three-year showing would certainly make him a polarizing option in Denver, even considering his No. 2 overall draft pedigree.
The second overall choice five years earlier, Wentz is now 31 and spent much of last year in free agency before closing out the campaign with the Rams.
Tannehill saw his five-year Titans run conclude with a midseason benching, as Will Levis took over. The 2012 first-rounder is going into his age-36 season.
The Broncos hold the No. 12 overall pick, and the state of their depth chart will tie them to QBs during the pre-draft process.
Team brass already met with J.J. McCarthy during a “30” visit, and NBC Sports’ Dan Patrick said Wednesday morning Payton’s interest in the Michigan prospect should be monitored.
McCarthy’s stock has skyrocketed since the Wolverines’ national championship, with the Commanders now being mentioned as a candidate to take him at No. 2 overall.
Even if that proves a bridge too far, the Broncos would need to trade up — to outflank a suddenly better-prepared Vikings team, if nothing else — to land the ex-Jim Harbaugh pupil.
With Payton now 60, it would be somewhat difficult to envision the Broncos going with Stidham and tabling a QB draft investment to 2025. But the team has traded three first-round picks over the previous two years, using the draft capital to acquire Wilson and Payton.
If the Broncos are to land one of this draft’s top non-Caleb Williams arms, they will need to be prepared to part with a future first-rounder and more.
It will be interesting to see if the team’s recent trade past impacts how it proceeds in Round 1, as Stidham and a to-be-determined veteran will be on the depth chart before Week 1.
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