Sean Payton championed Jarrett Stidham … and now he could cement Payton’s all-time legacy

DENVER — Jarrett Stidham went a bit under the radar on Sean Payton’s first significant day of player acquisition upon becoming Denver Broncos head coach: the opening of the “legal tampering” period just before the official start of free agency on March 13, 2023.

That day, Payton seared his imprint upon the Broncos and his inside-out approach to rebuilding the roster, doling out $112.5 million in guarantees to defensive end Zach Allen, right tackle Mike McGlinchey and left guard Ben Powers.

The addition of Stidham drew some notice, but comparatively speaking, was of scant impact compared to the burly trio.

And as crucial as Allen, McGlinchey and Powers were to Payton’s process of reshaping the roster and team culture and driving the Broncos to the point at which they now sit — one game away from their ninth Super Bowl trip — now Stidham is the most vital piece of all.

Such is the life of the backup quarterback. You exist in the shadows, mostly overlooked, until suddenly you’re the most important player on the roster.

Now, the Broncos’ hopes of becoming just the second team in the NFL to reach nine Super Bowls and the eighth to become a four-time world champion rest on Stidham’s shoulders.

And now Payton, the man most responsible for Stidham being with the Broncos, the person who championed his acquisition nearly three years ago and spoke of him as someone who had the potential to “become an NFL starter in our league,” puts his legacy in Stidham’s hands.

PAYTON WANTED STIDHAM; NOW STIDDY COULD TAKE PAYTON TO IMMORTALITY

That’s no lie.

If the Broncos win their next two games, Payton can start making room for his gold jacket from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. At that point, his eventual induction would be assured; the only variable would be time.

Shoot, if the Broncos defeat the Houston Texans or New England Patriots with Stidham making merely his fifth career start, one could argue that Payton’s place in Canton should be assured. That would give him his second Super Bowl appearance, and given the nature of both of them — one having taken the previously woebegone New Orleans Saints to their only championship, and the other with a nationally unheralded backup quarterback piloting his team to a win in the conference-championship game — that would give him a ledger superior to coaches such as Bill Cowher, Tony Dungy and Dick Vermeil, whose busts already sit comfortably in Canton’s room of legends.

For Stidham to guide the Broncos to an AFC Championship Game triumph on Jan. 25 would be an ultimate validation of not only Payton’s rebuilding capabilities, but his quarterback evaluation. Because when the Broncos signed Stidham 34 months ago to back up Russell Wilson, they did so in part because of Stidham’s upside.

Payton could have added a quarterback with whom he had familiarity. Two of his former New Orleans backups, Teddy Bridgewater and Jameis Winston, were available at the time.

Instead, he chose Stidham.

“In this case, I think, it’s a No. 2 that his arrow is moving in a direction where we feel like he can become an NFL starter in our league,” Payton said three weeks after adding Stidham to his roster.

He moved his hand upward to illuminate his point.

“So, the evaluation was pretty crystal clear for all of us. I think he’s someone that’s going to be great in the room. He’s smart. And, so, that was quietly an important [signing] for us.”

In the three seasons that followed, Stidham started twice, lost one quarterback competition and signed a contract extension.

The Broncos won one of his starts; in the other, he found himself under siege as they endured a game without McGlinchey at right tackle; it didn’t go well and he absorbed five sacks — a bugaboo in his brief starting stint with the Raiders the previous season, when he got sacked six times in his final of two starts.

Stidham proved to be the ideal understudy. He bonded with Bo Nix, providing a harmonious blend of sideline support, friendship and cerebral connection.

He flourished this past preseason, offering hope that three years marinating in Payton’s scheme just might pay massive dividends when asked. And along the way, Payton reiterated that Stidham still had starting potential; the two up-and-down starts at the end of the 2023 season didn’t alter Payton’s perspective.

Payton has nailed so much of the Broncos’ rebuild, guiding a cultural shift, turning the sixth quarterback selected in the 2024 NFL Draft into the first one to reach the postseason twice, working with general manager George Paton to cobble together a roster that featured four first-team All-Pros this season — three more than the Broncos had in the seven seasons before Payton’s arrival as head coach.

But if Stidham steps in and finishes the job of pointing the Broncos to their fourth Lombardi Trophy, Payton can schedule the time and date when he’ll be measured for his Hall of Fame bust. His immortality will be assured. He will have done something that no coach had ever done before: absorb the loss of a quarterback at such a late stage of the season to still reach the promised land.

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