As the Raiders landed Jimmy Garoppolo, another of Josh McDaniels’ ex-Patriots passers-turned-Raiders options is headed out of Nevada. Jarrett Stidham will head to Denver.
The Broncos are giving Stidham a nice backup quarterback contract — two years, $10M, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. The deal includes $5M guaranteed, giving Stidham a clear runway to be Denver’s QB2 in 2023.
Stidham spent three seasons in New England. For a period in 2020, it looked like the Patriots would give him the keys post-Tom Brady, but they signed Cam Newton to take over instead. Stidham, a former fourth-round pick, sat behind Brian Hoyer in New England as well. McDaniels brought him to Las Vegas in 2022, but now Sean Payton will land the Raiders’ end-of-season starter.
Stidham and new Broncos quarterbacks coach Davis Webb have known each other since they were teenagers. Despite becoming Denver’s QBs coach, Webb — at 27 — is just one year older than Stidham. The Dallas-area natives will work together in Denver, though the Payton-Wilson partnership will obviously generate the bulk of the headlines this season.
The Raiders made the surprising move to bench Derek Carr ahead of Week 17, moving Stidham into the starting lineup. Stidham’s first start produced a stunning stat line — 365 yards and three touchdown passes against the 49ers’ top-ranked defense. The Raiders are giving Garoppolo a midlevel contract, and they have been connected to drafting a quarterback early as well. As such, Stidham is relocating.
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