Broncos Fans Still Have Questions About Backup Quarterback

Denver Broncos fans have a question they really don’t want to ask, but they still have to go there. The Broncos were relying on backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham to play reasonably well after Bo Nix broke his ankle in their divisional round win over Buffalo, and Stidham came up decidedly small. 

Which makes the question obvious but still painful: Is there still confidence in Stidham?

“I think [Stidham] had a tough go in there, , but the elements (in the AFC Championship loss to New England) weren’t in his favor,” said former Broncos safety T.J. Ward, who helped win Super Bowl 50, according to a piece by Sean Keller of the Denver Post. 

“You know, it was a tight game. The starting quarterback for the Patriots (Drake Maye), was second place in MVP voting  and didn’t play well. So I think (Stidham) gets a little pass for that, coming in for his first start.” 

Ward currently hosts a podcast and conducts football clinics, and he’s optimistic about Nix this season. That seems to be the party line for much of Denver right now, probably because they don’t want to see Stidham in that kind of situation again. 

“I think this year we’re going to see a free, an uncaged Bo,” Ward said. “A lot of people talk about, ‘Oh, Bo had the most passing chances, but they were mostly check-downs or whatnot.’ And I think we’re going to see a lot more down-the-field passes, obviously, with (Jaylen) Waddle in there now. It’s going to clear the way for (Courtland) Sutton, and now we have a deep-ball threat. Really, two deep-ball threats.”

It’s an optimistic forecast, but whether it’s grounded in reality is still up in the Mile-High air. We don’t know how mobile Nix will be, but one thing we do know is that Stidham is slated to make $6 million this year, with third quarterback Sam Ehlinger on track to make $2 million. 

Another thing we don’t know is what coach Sean Payton thinks about all this. He made a few generic comments about “Stiddy” after the game, but Payton didn’t exactly make an effort to hide his frustration. 

“It’s always a competition,” Ward said about this part of the equation. “No one’s job is safe, even the backup. I guess we’ll see this preseason, right?”

But Ward turned unexpectedly honest with his final thoughts, which mirror those of many Broncos fans. 

“But I definitely think that (Jarrett) is a great backup for us,” Ward continued. “He knows the system. He’s been there. And he’s playing well. We’ve seen him play well. Yeah, give him another opportunity.”

A laugh and a pregnant pause followed. 

“Hopefully,” he said, “he doesn’t get one.”