$10 Million Backup QB Could Be Valuable Trade Chip for Broncos

While finding teams who are in vulnerable spots is one part of winning any NFL trade, identifying your own assets other teams might really need is another.

As the Nov. 5 NFL trade deadline approaches, the Denver Broncos might want to realize they have not one but two assets at quarterback who might draw other teams in because both of their backups — Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson — have starting experience.

While the Broncos definitely need to keep 1 of them to play behind rookie starter Bo Nix, it’s hard to see what the difference between the two is, on paper or on the actual field, and the real value might be in dealing Stidham.

Stidham has been an ultra-reliable backup for 6 seasons on 3 different teams and might be presented as the more attractive commodity over Wilson. Any team that still considers itself a playoff contender and is having quarterback problems might be drawn to that, even if Stidham hasn’t shown he’s any better than Wilson.

One team that fits that description could be the Chicago Bears, who seem built to be a playoff contender but are 2-2 with starting quarterback Caleb Williams.

So far, the Bears have been winning in spite of Williams and could use a veteran presence as his backup should William go down or his play digress to the point he needs to be benched. Chicago’s current backup, Tyson Bagent, was wildly inconsistent in 4 starts in 2023.

The Bears are also an attractive trade partner because they have an abundance of future draft picks — 8 picks total in 2025 — and getting a mid-round pick back for Stidham would represent a pretty significant return on the 2-year, $10 million contract he signed before the 2023 season.

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Williams Could Have Tough Road Going Forward

While no one probably wants to say it yet because it’s only 4 games into the season, the Bears have eyes and ears like the rest of us. That means they have seen the absolute phenomenon Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels has become in the last month.

Daniels, of course, was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft — one spot behind Williams — and is already playing like an MVP candidate. Daniels is setting NFL records and has the Commanders off to a 3-1 start while almost single-handedly injecting hope into a moribund franchise.

In that same time, Williams has struggled mightily. The one game the Bears tried to take the top off the offense was a 21-16 Week 3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in which Williams went 33-of-52 passing for 363 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

Williams hasn’t thrown for over 200 yards in any of the other 3 games and has 3 touchdowns to 4 interceptions on the season, is only completing 61.7 percent of his passes and has a QB rating of 72.0 — putting him 30th out of 32 NFL starting quarterbacks.

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Bears May Have Picked Wrong QB … Again

If the Bears end up having picked the wrong quarterback in the first round with Williams instead of Daniels — the 2 teams actually play on Oct. 27 — it would likely give Chicago fans an unwelcome sense of deja vu.

In 2017, the Bears famously took North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky at No. 2 overall and passed on Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes, who went to the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 10 overall and won 3 Super Bowls in his first 6 seasons as a starter.

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