The biggest debate during Denver Broncos training camp — will Zach Wilson make the team or won’t he — appears come to an end.
Head coach Sean Payton told ESPN’s Jeff Legwold the backup quarterback and No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft will be on the team’s 53-man roster when all 32 NFL teams are required to submit their final rosters on Aug. 27.
Rookie Bo Nix has already been named the Broncos’ starting quarterback, winning the job over veteran Jarrett Stidham during training camp.
“We feel comfortable with those three quarterbacks,” Payton said following the Broncos’ 38-12 preseason win over the Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 25. “I think I’ve told you already I see the three of them making (the roster).”
The Broncos finished the preseason 3-0 and Wilson played all but one possession against the Cardinals. Wilson finished 16-of-25 passing for 251 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions to go with 22 rushing yards and 1 rushing touchdown.
Wilson Playing For NFL Career in Denver
Wilson opened training camp in a three-way battle for the starting spot with Nix and Stidham but by Aug. 1, Payton confirmed it was a two-way race.
The Broncos traded a sixth-round pick to the New York Jets in exchange for Wilson and a seventh-round pick in April. Three years ago, Wilson was being looked at as the franchise savior for the New York Jets.
After being selected No. 2 overall out of BYU in 2021, Wilson struggled mightily in three seasons in New York. He went 12-21 as a starter but was pressed into duty in 2023 after Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon on the first offensive series of the season. It was a year in which Wilson hoped to learn under the tutelage of Rodgers, a four-time NFL MVP.
His time with the Jets became most notable for one game — a 10-3 loss to the New England Patriots in 2022 in which Wilson went 9-of-22 passing for 77 yards with zero touchdowns as the Jets put up just 103 yards of total offense.
Afterward, Wilson said he didn’t think the offense let the defense down despite New England’s only touchdown coming on a punt return. Wilson apologized to his teammates within days but was still benched and vilified in the media.
According to ESPN’s 53-man roster projections, before training camp, only two quarterbacks would make the final cut for the Broncos. Wilson wasn’t one of them.
Nix One of Several Rookie Starting QBs in 2024
Three of the 6 quarterbacks taken in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft had won starting jobs for their teams headed into the final week of the preseason. No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams with the Chicago Bears, No. 2 overall pick and Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels and Nix, the No. 2 overall pick.
J.J. McCarthy, the No. 10 overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings, is out for the season with a meniscus tear and No. 8 overall pick Michael Penix Jr. will start the season as a backup to Kirk Cousins on the Atlanta Falcons.
On the Patriots, rookie Drake Maye was in a battle for the starting job with veteran Jacoby Brissett headed into the preseason finale against the Commanders.
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Broncos’ Payton Says Former No. 2 Overall Pick Will Make 53-Man Roster