Getty Sean Payton being interviewed at radio row ahead of Super Bowl LVIII.
Things have seemed to be quiet around the Denver Broncos on what they’re going to do at the quarterback position heading into the 2024 season.
We now have an update from head coach Sean Payton after he made his rounds at radio row during Super Bowl week.
Payton joined Kay Adams on her show “Up and Adams” and broke down where he’s at with his staff on finding the right quarterback for the 2024 season.
“We start draft meetings, Monday (February 12), so everything you’ve heard and read about us ‘Oh we’re going to trade up, trade down. I can’t tell you the jersey numbers of these rookie quarterbacks. We haven’t even seen them yet.”
Payton also explained how he’s working with his staff to assess finding the right gun-slinger for his team.
“The quarterback position, are we going to be able to find it in the draft, are we going to find it in free agency, or is it in the building? I think that decision is going to come quicker than later relative to Russell Wilson.”
Could the Broncos Keep Wilson?
Despite Payton benching Wilson for the final two games of the season, there’s still a chance that the former Super Bowl winning quarterback remains in Denver for at least one more season.
Jim Rome asked Payton if he sees Wilson starting for him next season.
“That’s a possibility.”
Last season, Wilson threw 26 touchdowns compared to just 16 in 2022 under Nathaniel Hackett. Wilson’s interceptions also went down from 11-8 with Payton calling plays.
Currently, the Broncos are staring at an $85 million dead cap hit if they release Wilson early in 2024, but they can lower that cap hit as well.
If the Broncos wait to release Wilson after June 1, that would divide the dead money over the 2024 ($35.4 million) and 2025 seasons ($49.6 million), per NFL Network’s James Palmer.
Could the Broncos Draft a QB?
The Broncos haven’t had success drafting quarterbacks in their history. Denver has only drafted one quarterback that won a playoff game and that was Tim Tebow.
It’s been since 2019 since the Broncos drafted a quarterback and that was Drew Lock in 2019. Lock was traded to the Seahawks as part of the trade that sent Wilson to Denver.
With a lot of excitement with this year’s draft class, there’s a real chance that the Broncos could draft a quarterback to pair with Payton.
“If we like one of these guys a lot, then I’m unconcerned where people think we should draft them,” Payton told Adams. She also asked him if he’s looking to fall in love with a quarterback in which Payton responded, “Yeah.”
As the head coach of New Orleans Saints, Payton never drafted a quarterback in the first-round. If Payton was to fall in love with a first-round quarterback and draft that quarterback, it will be new territory for him.
It would also be the first time the Broncos drafted a quarterback in the first-round since they selected Paxton Lynch in 2016.