Jarrett Stidham doesn’t see himself as auditioning for QB job

While most of Broncos Country has already checked out the list of free agent quarterbacks or targeted which college gunslinger is their favorite, could Denver’s next quarterback actually be the one already in the role?

Sean Payton seems to be high on veteran backup Jarrett Stidham, to the point where he’s playing a pretty convincing act of claiming the 27-year-old is currently starting to spark the offense and not because of a clause in Russell Wilson’s contract. So could Stidham be the quarterback of the future right under everyone’s nose? Maybe, but that’s not how the quarterback himself is viewing the situation.

“I’m not looking at it like an audition, I have a certain job to do, a certain thing to do on every play,” Stidham said. “We’ve gotta go out and win so I’m focused on doing my job, moving the ball and scoring points.”

Stidham did a good enough job in the role during Week 17 to push the Broncos to a win. Though it was tied for the second-fewest points scored by the team this season and it took an incredible play from Lil’Jordan Humphrey to get there. Still, Stidham more or less replicated what Wilson had done every week.

Stidham went 20-for-32 with 212 yards, one touchdown to no turnovers, was sacked twice for 12 yards, and picked up six yards for six carries. If those numbers feel familiar that’s because they’re almost identical to what Wilson is averaging per game this season, 19.8-for-29.8 with 204.7 yards, 1.7 touchdowns to 0.5 picks, three sacks for 17.2 yards while getting 22.7 yards on 5.3 carries a game.

Funny enough, this is the second time Stidham has found himself starting at the end of a season because of a quarterback’s future injury guarantee in their contract. The last time was a year ago with the Raiders when Derrick Carr was sent away from the franchise. Now, Stidham will start against his old team, and he reflected on that situation from last year.

“At the time, I tried not to think about it, but it was my only playing experience in the four years of my rookie contract,” Stidham said of what ended up being his audition that caught many team’s eye as a backup option coming into this year. “I tried to play loose and free and have some fun.”

The Broncos have Stidham under contract for the 2024 season. If he’s not the starter, there’s a great chance he will still factor into the team’s future plans at the position.

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