Unlike the previous 2 seasons, there wasn’t a lot of behind the scenes drama with the Denver Broncos in 2024.
Wide receiver Courtland Sutton’s relatively minor kerfuffle came via a preseason holdout that eventually got him a raise. Once he delivered the best season of his career, all was forgiven.
Other than that, the only real drama came when it came to a relatively benign competition to be the starting quarterback that, for all intents and purposes, was won by rookie Bo Nix walking away.
With Nix back for Year 2 and the quarterback position on solid ground for the first time since the Peyton Manning era, the only drama on the horizon isn’t really drama but more of a business decision — who will be the backup quarterback?
Both of the Broncos’ backup quarterbacks from 2024, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson, are free agents in 2025 and Denver could very well have a decision made on if they’re bringing one of them back by the time free agency negotiations open on March 10.
According to the Locked on Broncos podcast, it appears as if Wilson might have the upper hand in that regard.
From Locked on Broncos: “Everything kind of points here to Zach Wilson, and nobody’s talking about it enough … you see Denver looking at the free agency market at QB to say, hey, these are the guys we want to bring in as a backup? I know we’ve thrown out names like you could look at Teddy Bridgewater if you wanted to, or even Jameis Winston. To me, it doesn’t make sense necessarily to go with an older guy right now. I think with Zach Wilson he’s young with similar traits and skill sets to Bo Nix. I think that’s where you have to go if you want to maintain status quo offensively.”
Wilson Might Be Popular Free Agent Target
Wilson’s one season in Denver after a disastrous 3 seasons with the New York Jets proved a couple of things. First, it showed he could be a good teammate. That wasn’t totally certain after his time in New York.
Second, it showed he could learn an uber-complicated offense like the one head coach Sean Payton runs.
“A first-round pick of the New York Jets in 2021, Wilson never established himself as a quality starter,” Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox wrote on January 13. “After watching Aaron Rodgers struggle in New York this season —while (Sam) Darnold shined in Minnesota —it’s fair to wonder how much Wilson’s environment hindered his development. Wilson performed well for the Denver Broncos in the preseason and still has a ton of untapped athletic upside.”
Calculating What Wilson Might Cost Broncos
If we’re trying to calculate what Wilson might cost the Broncos, the answer is: Not much.
Wilson just played out the final season of the 4-year, $35.1 million contract he signed with the Jets after the franchise drafted him out of BYU in 2021.
Spotrac projects Wilson’s market value at a 1-year, $3 million contract. That’s about half of what the “high end” backup quarterbacks in the NFL are getting paid and a $2 million savings on what the Broncos paid Stidham to be the No. 2 quarterback in 2024.
