Getty Denver Broncos quarterback Zach Wilson.
Four months ago, when the Denver Broncos mapped out what their 2024 season might look like, part of those calculations probably included carrying 3 quarterbacks on the 53-man roster.
That was before rookie quarterback Bo Nix easily won the starting job, making him the first rookie to start at the position for the Broncos since John Elway in 1983.
Keeping Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson on the regular-season roster would have been an insurance policy for if Nix proved to be totally incompetent. In this case, that meant worse than Stidham and Wilson to begin his career.
Nix has firmly established he’s more than competent. Which means Wilson is expendable and could let the Broncos’ keep another player at a position where they lack depth — possibly in the secondary or at wide receiver.
With the NFL’s emergency quarterback rule, the Broncos could easily keep a third quarterback stowed away who would be as good or probably better than Wilson would be in a pinch.
NFL teams must cut their roster down to 53 players by Aug. 27.
Wilson Out of Starting QB Competition Early On
For all intents and purposes, Wilson was out of the starting quarterback competition just one week into training camp.
According to Denver head coach Sean Payton, all three quarterbacks entered camp with an opportunity to win the starting job. By Aug. 1, Payton confirmed it was a two-way race.
“Broncos coach Sean Payton acknowledged Thursday what has been seen on the practice field for much of the week,” ESPN’s Jeff Legwold wrote on Aug. 1. “That, at least for the moment, the three-man competition for the starting quarterback job that was the hallmark of the team’s offseason program, is down to two — Jarrett Stidham and rookie Bo Nix. Zach Wilson was skipped in the rotation to work the starting offense earlier this week as Stidham and Nix have traded looks. Stidham has worked with the starters the most this week, including Thursday’s practice.”
The Broncos traded a sixth-round pick to the New York Jets in exchange for Wilson and a seventh-round pick in April. The Jets selected Wilson No. 2 overall in the 2021 NFL draft.
Zach Wilson takes a sack for a safety on 2nd and 14.
Payton Kept 4 QBs on New Orleans Roster in 2021
Payton kept four quarterbacks on the roster to start his final season with the New Orleans Saints in his final year there in 2021. It’s worth pointing out that one of those quarterbacks, Taysom Hill, was incorporated more like a Wildcat quarterback than anything else.
It’s also worth pointing out that 2021 was the Saints’ first year without quarterback Drew Brees in 15 seasons, meaning Payton may have wanted added re-enforcements to try and pick up the slack. That season, the Saints ended up starting 4 quarterbacks — Jameis Winston, Hill, Trevor Siemian and Ian Book as New Orleans finished the season with a 9-8 record.
In that case, Winston and Siemian had both had some success as starting quarterbacks elsewhere and Hill was one of Payton’s favorite weapons already.
In the case of Wilson, it would be keeping a roster spot for a quarterback who has been as bad as anyone to start at quarterback in the last decade. Through 33 career starts in his first three seasons, Wilson is 12-21 with a 73.3 career QB rating, 23 touchdowns and 25 interceptions.
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Broncos Don’t Need to Keep Former No. 2 Overall Pick on Roster