The Denver Broncos reached agreement on a two-year deal to retain quarterback Jarrett Stidham, according to multiple reports on Sunday night.
The Denver Post reported that the deal is worth up to $12 million with $7 million guaranteed.
Keeping Stidham was pivotal for the Broncos as they keep continuity in the quarterback room after Bo Nix stood out as a rookie last season.
Both Stidham and third-stringer Zach Wilson were slated to become free agents.
Stidham, 28, competed for the starting position last summer before it became clear to head coach Sean Payton that Nix was ready to play.
Nix performed so well as a rookie that Stidham never threw a pass last season. He appeared in three games.
In 2023, Stidham appeared in three games (two starts) for the Broncos and passed for 496 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Stidham entered the NFL as a fourth-round pick of the New England Patriots in 2019. He has passed for 1,422 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions in 19 games (four starts) for the Patriots (2019-21), Las Vegas Raiders (2022) and Broncos.
Denver also agreed to a three-year deal with long snapper Mitchell Fraboni on Sunday. The Post said Fraboni's deal is worth $4.175 million with $1.6 million guaranteed.
Nix’s 2024 backup is staying in Denver, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. This will be Stidham’s second Broncos contract, after he initially arrived on a two-year deal to back up Russell Wilson. Stidham is staying on a two-year, $12M deal, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini tweets. This is a slight raise for the former Patriots draftee, who played out a two-year, $10M contract.
Stidham became contract protection for a second straight year, closing out the 2023 season as a two-game Broncos starter. As the Broncos moved to protect against Wilson’s injury guarantee from vesting, they made the move at the same juncture (Week 17) the Raiders did when they moved him into their 2022 starting lineup. Stidham replaced Derek Carr for two games but did not stick around, signing with the Broncos. Rather than bail after Nix won last year’s job and delivered a strong rookie season, Stidham will remain as a mentor.
A six-year veteran, Stidham had entered camp taking first-string reps. But with Nix making a Division I-FBS QB-record 61 starts at Auburn and Oregon, Stidham — Nix’s Auburn QB1 predecessor — never looked like a real threat to hold off the rookie for too long. As it turned out, Nix impressed in the preseason and Sean Payton gave his handpicked passer the job. Stidham’s second Broncos contract will overlap with the two additional seasons in which Nix must stay on a rookie deal.
Stidham went 1-3 as a starter during his 2022 and ’23 two-fers, delivering an impressive performance in a Raiders shootout loss to the 49ers. He guided the Broncos to a win over the Chargers in Week 17 of the 2023 season as well. Those are Stidham’s only four career starts, but the former fourth-round pick has made a nice career as a backup. Stidham did beat out Zach Wilson to become Nix’s backup throughout last season, and with this contract, the former No. 2 overall Jets pick may need to head elsewhere in free agency.
