Zach Wilson, who was once the second best quarterback in the draft for the Broncos, is now watching from the sidelines as the competition for the starting quarterback position heats up. At the beginning of training camp, there seemed to be a close race among Wilson, experienced Jarrett Stidham, and the rookie Bo Nix for the starting job. However, as of now, it appears to be just Stidham and Nix left in the running, as reported by ESPN.
“Sean Payton, the coach of the Broncos, recognized on Thursday what has been observed on the practice field throughout the week,” reported ESPN’s Jeff Legwold. “It appears, for now, that the competition for the starting quarterback position, which was a key focus of the team’s offseason training, has narrowed to just two players — Jarrett Stidham and Bo Nix. Zach Wilson was left out of the lineup to focus on the starting offense earlier this week, as Stidham and Nix have been swapping positions. Stidham has spent the most time with the starters this week, including the practice on Thursday.”
The Broncos swapped a sixth-round selection for Wilson and another seventh-round selection in April, with the New York Jets picking Wilson as the second overall in the 2021 NFL draft.
ESPN Forecasted Wilson’s Exclusion from Roster
According to ESPN’s projections of the 53-man roster, prior to the start of training camp, only two quarterbacks were expected to make the final squad, leaving Wilson as the only one not selected.
“Given that Nix is expected to be the starting quarterback, it’s hard to believe that the Broncos would spend ‘weeks’ — Payton’s term — to negotiate a deal for Wilson and then not retain him on the 53-man roster,” noted ESPN’s Jeff Legwold. “However, retaining Wilson could mean losing a player of greater need to a team facing depth issues at other positions.”
Wilson continues to pursue his NFL career in Denver. He has been the starting quarterback for the last three seasons with the Jets, recording a record of 12-21 — a period marked by his distant behavior, which led to alienation among teammates and coaches.
Stidham, a fourth-round selection by the New England Patriots in the 2019 NFL draft, has spent the last five seasons as a backup for the Patriots, Raiders, and Broncos.
Nix secured a spot as a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft after setting an NCAA single-season record with 77.4% completion rate in 2023 and an FBS career record with 61 starts across five seasons at Auburn and Oregon. He was the record-tying sixth quarterback selected in the first round.
The decision on who will be the Broncos’ starting quarterback is expected to be finalized after a few preseason games.
“It’s not set in stone, we discuss it at the start of the week,” Payton mentioned. “Rotating three quarterbacks is challenging, especially with the first group. We’ll see how Saturday’s game goes. It won’t be a scrimmage, but it will be structured like three phases, such as moving the ball. Sunday, we’ll outline a plan for the quarterbacks leading up to the August 11 preseason opener in Indianapolis.”
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