NFL expert shares thoughts on Broncos' free agency
The Denver Broncos were busy over the first week of free agency. In fact, I'm sure their phones were either constantly ringing or busy with agents on the line. They made some huge moves, and some good ones at that. They rebuilt the offensive line and added some nice defensive players too. But, there is […]
The Denver Broncos were busy over the first week of free agency. In fact, I'm sure their phones were either constantly ringing or busy with agents on the line. They made some huge moves, and some good ones at that. They rebuilt the offensive line and added some nice defensive players too.
But, there is one move that most didn't see coming. They signed Jarrett Stidham as the backup quarterback, who played for the division rival Las Vegas Raiders. It was something that they needed to do, but it was still surprising nonetheless.
For Peter King of NBC Sports, it was one of the more fascinating moves in the entire first week of free agency.
The most fascinating signing of the first week: quarterback Jarrett Stidham, two years, $10 million, $5 million guaranteed … after starting a grand total of two games in his four-year NFL life. But one of those games convinced Sean Payton to take a chance on him. After Derek Carr was benched in Vegas in late December, Stidham, in his first NFL start and facing the best defense in football, San Francisco, put up 365 passing yards, three TD passes, and 34 points. So now Payton buys him to be Russell Wilson’s backup, and nothing needs to be said to Wilson about it. 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. 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 as 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. I like the logic.
-Peter King, NBC Sports
Last year we saw that when Russell Wilson was hurt, Brett Rypien wasn't very good in that backup quarterback role. Sure, Wilson was terrible at times, but when your starter is really bad, and your backup is even worse, that's not good.
So the Broncos went and fixed that issue, as Stidham showed last season that he can play. In his two starts, he played pretty well, especially against the San Francisco 49ers, the league's best defense, when he threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns.
And what King said about Stidham being that backup plan is smart too. What if the Wilson experiment goes completely south again for a second straight season? Now they have a guy in the room that can win games. It's not a guy that you have to develop or teach a whole lot to.
King is on to something with that take, and I have to agree with him. The signing was indeed fascinating and makes so much sense.
