After paying mightily through their sniveling noses to end the Russell Wilson error, the Broncos will now gamble on the cheap that the Jarrett Stidham era will make it all better.
Well, good riddance to Mr. Let’s Ride. But your beloved local NFL team is right back where it has spent most of the last eight seasons, as a league laughingstock.
Whether the mess in Denver’s offensive huddle has been operated by Trevor Siemian, Joe Flacco or Drew Lock, the only thing for certain during the Broncos’ long playoff drought is the next answer at quarterback is not for long.
With the dreary purgatory of dead money against the salary cap looming, Broncos coach Sean Payton is betting his reputation as an offensive genius his team can be a playoff contender with Stidham, a 27-year-old journeyman who gets the chance to earn his first NFL victory on Sunday, when Denver hosts the Los Angeles Chargers.
“We’re in the quarterback business, always. Where do you find them? We feel like this guy has a lot of traits that you’re looking for,” Payton said, complimenting Stidham after surprising players in the Denver locker room last week with the news he was benching Wilson.
The former Super Bowl champion’s record in 30 starts for the Broncos was an abysmal 11-19. Hard to believe, but Wilson has produced fewer victories for Denver than Siemian did.
For all the unintentional comic relief Wilson brought this dusty old cowtown, from his corny “Let’s Ride” motto to those high knees in the aisle of the team plane, the strangest and saddest moment of Wilson’s career in Denver happened Friday in the team locker room, when he claimed the Broncos used a threat to bench him after beating Kansas City as leverage to extract multimillion-dollar concessions in his contract.
“They told me if I didn’t change my contract, my injury guarantee, that I’d be benched the rest of the year,” Wilson said.
He called the Broncos’ bluff, making the team look clueless once again.
You can assign the blame to either neophyte NFL owner Greg Penner or general manager George Paton for gifting Wilson a five-year, $245 million contract extension before he threw a single touchdown pass for Denver. It doesn’t matter to me. All I know is these fools and their money will soon be parted, for the benefit of the banished quarterback’s bank account. The team will pay for everything to go away, except the lingering, odorous fallout of a mistake that could cripple the Broncos for years.
Here’s hoping Stidham has more game than Paxton Lynch or Brett Rypien.
“I’ve always had a lot of confidence in myself,” said Stidham, who has thrown six touchdown passes since being a fourth-round draft choice by New England in 2019.
Unless he absolutely flops during this two-game tryout against AFC West rivals, the team’s big salary-cap trauma that only figures to be exacerbated by the expected release of Wilson in March makes Stidham the odds-on favorite to be the starting quarterback when Denver opens the 2024 NFL season.
Despite a shortage of offensive playmakers from running back to wide receiver to tight end, there will be great pressure on Payton to draft a quarterback with real potential to become a starter. And here’s the truth: This 60-year-old coach has never successfully done it during his long NFL career.
With Denver currently slated to select 14th in the first round and losses against the Chargers and Raiders unlikely to land the Broncos in the top 10, it’s hard to envision how they could trade up to take Caleb Williams of USC, Drake Maye from North Caroline or Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels.
My humble suggestion: The Broncos should stand pat in the middle of the opening round, or, depending what the intel reveals, even trade back, with the purpose of landing Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. before he’s off the board.
Although his lengthy injury history must be examined, Penix’s pocket presence and ability to attack defenses with intermediate-range throws reminds me a little of another left-handed quarterback, former Jacksonville star Marc Brunell, who once beat John Elway in a playoff game, as you might recall.
If my math is correct, Stidham will be the 13th unlucky victim to start at quarterback for Denver since Peyton Manning retired after Super Bowl 50.
When will this nightmare in the Broncos huddle end?
Don’t know about you, but I’m in no mood to wait until 2026, when Arch Manning leaves the Texas Longhorns and declares for the NFL draft.
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