Insider suggests Broncos could sit Russell Wilson in favor of Jarrett Stidham

It sounds like the Denver Broncos could have plans for Jarrett Stidham that go beyond him merely serving as the backup quarterback behind Russell Wilson.

In his latest "Football Morning in America" column, NBC Sports' Peter King called the Broncos acquiring Stidham "the most fascinating signing of the first week" of free agency. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport (h/t Kevin Patra), the Broncos and Stidham agreed to a two-year, $10M deal with $5M guaranteed and $4M more in incentives even though, as King pointed out, the 26-year-old has started "a grand total of two games in his four-year NFL life." 

King added that new Broncos head coach Sean Payton became "convinced" to take a flier on Stidham after the signal-caller threw for 365 passing yards and three touchdowns while starting for the Las Vegas Raiders in a 37-34 overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers back on New Year's Day. 

"If Wilson by midseason 2023 is having a similarly disastrous season to his first one in Denver, Payton won’t have to punt on the season," King continued. "He’ll have an intriguing backup waiting in the wings. But Payton did not go hard after Stidham to put the pressure on Wilson. He considered his options at backup QB and thought he could play it safe for around the same money with an Andy Dalton type, or swing for the fences on a young prospect with significant upside." 

Dalton, meanwhile, joined the Carolina Panthers in free agency. 

King isn't the first insider to suggest that Payton could have Wilson on a short leash. After Terry Bradshaw, Payton's former colleague with Fox, hinted ahead of Super Bowl LVII that the coach was somewhat stuck with Wilson due to the five-year extension reportedly worth $245M that the 34-year-old signed with the Broncos, Matthew Berry of NBC Sports Edge noted that "more than one person mentioned" to him during the combine that Wilson "is basically on a one-year audition" under Payton. 

According to ESPN stats, Wilson ended the 2022 campaign 27th among eligible players with a 36.7 adjusted QBR and 30th with a 60.8% completion percentage. In 15 games, he recorded 16 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions. 

Payton may not tolerate similar production from Wilson this coming fall, especially if the coach truly wants to see what he does or doesn't have in Stidham.