Sean Payton said he likes the “energy” the Denver Broncos have shown in training camp. He also lamented the mental errors but noted that they are still in the early stages and have not gone to padded practices yet.
Payton also addressed the most significant decision he has in front of him: the Broncos’ quarterback competition.
So far, Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham, and Zach Wilson have all taken snaps as QB1.
“They’re doing well,” Payton told reporters on July 27. “We don’t have a sum total, but the rotation’s been pretty consistent. I think that will begin to change a little bit as we get into the next week and a half, two weeks.
“Right now, we’ve kind of been in this pretty consistent pattern. And I think it’s hard for that to stay the same throughout all of camp.”
Payton previously there was “a lot” that goes into evaluating the position.
Nix, Stidham, and Wilson alternated days during OTAs. Stidham ran with the starters on July 27.
Payton said that he had no progress report yet, but that all three players were doing well with what they had done so far. He also said he would not give daily updates on the battle during training camp.
Zach Wilson Predicted to be Odd Man Out in Broncos QB Battle
GettyZach Wilson #4 of the Denver Broncos.
Stidham’s institutional knowledge could be a leg up in the race to at least hold onto a roster spot, while Nix was the team’s first-round pick.
Wilson could be the odd man out as The Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson predicts.
“A three-man battle at quarterback is rare. If it is trimmed to two, Wilson would seem to be the most likely candidate to have his reps cut,” Tomasson wrote on July 27.
“Stidham, entering his sixth season, has the most experience and knows the Broncos’ system the best, having spent last season with them, and starting the last two games when Russell Wilson was benched and eventually released. Nix, of course, is the highly touted rookie, having been taken No. 12 in the draft in April out of Oregon.”
The Broncos acquired Wilson from the New York Jets ahead of the 2024 draft in a trade that also saw them receive a seventh-round pick in exchange for their sixth-rounder.
Payton said they worked on a deal for the former No. 2 overall pick of the 2021 draft for a while.
“We remember grading him, and we felt the investment was worth it relative to his skillset and his talent,” Payton said during OTAs on June 4. “It took a while. We spent the better part of a month and a half working on that trade.”
Payton also said that Wilson was doing well learning the offense. But reports from the spring about Wilson’s inconsistent accuracy were followed by a daunting prediction from ESPN.
Sean Payton’s Decision on Broncos QB Could Come ‘With a Price’
GettyQuarterback Bo NIx #10 of the Denver Broncos.
Roster decisions can often come down to financials. But ESPN’s Jeff Legwold predicted that roster composition could play an even bigger part while saying Nix is the “expected” starter.
“With Nix expected to be the starter, it is difficult to square the idea the Broncos would spend “weeks” — Payton’s word — to put together a trade for Wilson and then not keep him on the 53-man roster. But keeping Wilson could cost a team fighting depth issues at other positions a player of greater need,” Legwold wrote on July 23.
“The Saints kept four quarterbacks on the roster to open the 2021 season, when Payton was the coach in New Orleans, so he could certainly lobby to keep three this year, but that decision would come with a price.”
The Broncos declined Wilson’s $22 million fifth-year option, per Legwold on May 1.
He is in the final year of his four-year, $35.1 million contract. Cutting him would not save any money against the salary cap. The Broncos would instead incur a $2.7 million dead cap hit.
Cutting Stidham in Year 2 of a two-year, $6.5 million contract would incur a $2 million hit. It would also shave $5 million off the Broncos’ bottom line. The Broncos have $7.7 million in cap space, per Over The Cap, but can create more by restructuring some of their pricier contracts.
The Broncos would be paying two quarterbacks who are not on the roster if they cut Wilson.
They owe Russell Wilson $53 million in 2024 and another $32 million in 2025 ($85 million total) after cutting him in Year 1 of a five-year, $242.6 million pact in March.
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