Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix entered OTAs and minicamp as a backup. Now, on the other side of the offseason workouts, he remains chasing Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson for starting duties.
One NFL analyst believes the team’s patience will last only so long.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox called the quarterback a project, but one that won’t last forever.
“The Oregon product is competing with Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson in Denver, neither of whom is good enough to keep the 12th overall pick on the bench for long,” Knox wrote. “Despite having loads of college experience, however, the first-year QB is very much a project.
“… As a rookie, though, Nix will need to improve his footwork and pocket presence to be a consistent and dependable signal-caller. That’s going to take time, but (Sean) Payton and the Broncos can only be so patient.”
He appeared to allude that it’s going to be a short wait for Nix to take the reins in Denver.
Jarrett Stidham hopes for curious history of flashes to win out over Bo Nix
That said, it is clear that head coach Sean Payton has at least had an unsatisfied curiosity about Stidham.
Stidham had initially served as a backup for Tom Brady with the New England Patriots for the first three years of his career. In New England, it seemed that there was a chance Stidham could have been the successor to the most accomplished quarterback of all time, but the Patriots ended up trading him to the Las Vegas Raiders in May 2022.
Stidham then popped with Josh McDaniels and the Raiders in place of Derek Carr during a brief late-season trial. At the end of the 2022 campaign, the signal-caller threw for four touchdowns in two games, raising eyebrows around the league.
However, he didn’t stick around the franchise much longer, as Payton’s Broncos snatched up Stidham to place behind Russell Wilson last year. He was paid an above-average backup salary, leading to the potential that he was going to replace Wilson at some point. In the preseason, he uncorked a preseason beatdown of the Los Angeles Rams in a massive blowout.
Eventually, Wilson was benched in 2023 and Stidham took over. In his second two-game stretch in two seasons, the quarterback went 1-1, throwing for two touchdowns and one interception.
At this point, Payton has had enough of a taste to stoke his curiosity. If he were to hold Nix back for just a few weeks, he might get enough of a sample size to make a true judgment on Stidham once and for all. Then, once the bridge fails, he can reset expectations once again. As such, the dominos are set up for a chance at two shots at getting a franchise quarterback in a single season.
Will Bo Nix impress enough at training camp to blow up that potential plan?
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