Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - RUMOR: Denver Broncos Backup QB Jarrett Stidham Receiving TRADE INTEREST

Starting point is 00:00:00 Ahead of NFL free energy, some teams around the league have interest in Denver Broncos quarterback Jared Stidham. But will Sean Payton pull the trigger? We'll take a look at that here on today's episode of the show. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What's up, Broncos country? I'm Cody Roar, Credential Broncos reporter from Ohio High Sports. Welcome to a bonus episode, Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast network, the number one. Sports Podcast Network in the country. Thanks to you. Every dayers out there.

Starting point is 00:00:38 Thanks for making us your first listen, however you choose to do so. On today's bonus episode of the show, we're going to talk about Jared Stidham and the trade rumors surrounding him. Several teams around the league, according to Diana Rucini, have interest in trading for Stidham, which teams could look at trading for Stidham? And if, in fact, Stidham gets traded, could the Broncos and Sean Payton and Davis Webb reunite with Zach Wilson as the potential backup quarterback to Bo Nix? We'll look at all that here on today's episode of the show. let's get into it here, though. The athletics, Diana Rusini, put out an interesting report yesterday talking about several teams that she has spoken to have indicated they have interest in trading for Denver

Starting point is 00:01:15 Broncos backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham. Now, I think when you look at this, it is interesting considering that Stidham is entering the final year of his deal here in Denver. He's got an $8 million cap hit, but this is why I think trading for him, if you some of these teams are in the league, it makes perfect sense here. Now, for him, he hadn't played a meaningful snap in two years leading up to the AFC championship game. He did step into those shoes for Bow Nix.

Starting point is 00:01:41 Got off to a little bit of a nice start there, finding Marvin Mins deep down the right sideline and then obviously a touchdown pass to Cortland Sutton. But in that game as well, I'd say some of his limitations in the athletic department there impacted the Broncos ability to ultimately win that game. He did contribute in one of the more important, more crucial mistakes made in that game by Denver offensively that led to the Patriot's. It's scoring and obviously that changed the whole dynamic and outcome of the game here. But I think right now as you look around the NFL, depending on various teams in their situations,

Starting point is 00:02:11 I want to look at the New York Jets as one of those teams. I want to look at the Arizona Cardinals right there where there could very much be a scenario here where if there is a quarterback that those teams want to go out and they want to draft. Now, obviously we know the Raiders probably going to go Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick. After that, quarterback class is kind of up and down there. There's some really good options. But I'd say this is probably a draft class in the quarterback department for some of these teams where a veteran bridge quarterback might be the best option to ultimately hand the keys to the younger guy here down the stretch. Now for a guy like Jared Stidham, he's a veteran guy, he's older. But I think for a team like the Jets or the Arizona Cardinals, I think those are two ideal situations where you could go out there and you could have Jers Stidham for a year or two as that bridge quarterback option and then eventually pass the.

Starting point is 00:03:00 things off to a younger guy that maybe you take in this year's NFL draft and that you develop those guys. But I think the conversation that we have to have here is what does that look like for the Broncos? And how does Sean Payton think about this? Now with Davis Webb as well, that quarterback brain trust that we see here in the mile high city, Sean Payton has always been on the record of saying, I think it's important that you have a high quality backup quarterback on your roster behind your starter in the event of an injury. Sean has seen that historically behind Drew Brees with the Teddy Bridgewaters, the James Winston's of the world,

Starting point is 00:03:33 even throwing Taysom Hill into that category from time to time when the Saints needed him when he was a member of the New Orleans Saints. And I think for where the Broncos are at right now, certainly we saw Bo Nicks, unfortunately suffered that injury against the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs, not able to play in the AFC championship game. You can make the argument,

Starting point is 00:03:51 I think having maybe a little bit more of an athletic quarterback or a guy who's got some of that backyard football style of traits could have actually helped the Broncos maybe win that game, but it is what it is. And here is a good quarterback. And he's got a lot of good experience, I think, to be able to step into one of those situations for a team out there and help. But I think so much is also contingent upon is Sean willing to depart with a backup

Starting point is 00:04:14 quarterback who he said he would take over a lot of different QBs in the league. He's happy that Stidham was his number two guy because he believes that he's got the best number two quarterback in the NFL. He's got a guy who he bled. leaves could start for a handful of other teams. So that theory, I think this offseason with this report from Diana Rusini will certainly be put to the test a little bit about that. But also Denver's got Sam Ellinger.

Starting point is 00:04:37 It was obviously set to become a free agent as well this off season. I think with that quarterback coaching staff kind of remaining very similar, with Davis Webb now the OC, Logan Kilgore getting promoted to quarterback coach, Sean Peyton still obviously having a major say in what the Broncos do offensively. I'm curious to see if there is a team out there that will give the Broncos any kind capital. I don't know what the exact range would be, especially considering the fact that Stidham is on the final year of his deal in Denver here in 2026, what that would be, maybe a fourth, maybe a fifth rounder. I'm not sure. That's just me speculating right here. But if there is team interest out there,

Starting point is 00:05:13 maybe the Broncos do that, right? Maybe it is one of those situations where they say, you know what, we are going to look at a different option here like Stidham. We appreciate what you've done in Denver. now maybe Jared gets a chance to go play more, which is certainly something I think that he certainly wants to do. He wants to have the opportunity to go out there and showcase himself. And you never know which system he could go to. He might be able to reinvent himself entirely, earn himself a little bit more money as well beyond just 2026,

Starting point is 00:05:40 something to look at here as well. So we've looked at Arizona. We've looked at New York, the Jets. As one of those teams, it could be a potential bridge option where he could be a bridge option for a potential young quarterback over the next couple of years here. Brockhouse country, make sure you share your thoughts with me here on today's episode of the show. But let's look at a hypothetical scenario here when we look at potential free agents that are available. If in fact the Broncos do trade away Jerston, if there's a team

Starting point is 00:06:02 that's interested, could they reunite with Zach Wilson to keep that quarterback continuity intact? We'll look at that and more here on today's episode of the show. Hey, it's Matt Derry from the Lockdown Lions podcast. The people I love depend on me. If I'm gone, the financial responsibilities don't disappear. I didn't want my family figuring things out during the hardest moment of their lives. That's why I knew only one place to go. I chose life insurance through my friends at Ethos. Ethos makes getting life insurance fast and easy. 100% online. You can get a quote in seconds, apply in minutes, and get same day covered. So there's no medical exam. You just answer a few simple health questions. You can get up to $3 million in coverage.

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Starting point is 00:07:31 And honestly, that goes for all of us. My wife, she carries a lot of different responsibilities. She runs her own business. She's ambitious. And with that always comes the weight of the world as well. The roles we play, the expectations that we carry in the pressure that we don't always talk about, it's all there. It's prevalent. Therapy can help with all of that, creating balance, setting healthy boundaries, and supporting your overall well-being. With over 30,000 licensed therapists and more than 6 million people serve worldwide, BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform, and it works.

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Starting point is 00:08:22 who fits the athletic profile similar to Bo Nix. And the continuity and familiarity with him behind the scenes is something that Sean Peyton Davis Webb, maybe Logan Kilgore would like inside that quarterback room. And maybe it's a clear upgrade as well at that position there behind. Bo Nicks here. Real quick, Broncos, country want to say, thanks for making us your first.

Starting point is 00:08:42 listen every single day. Appreciate all you everydayers out there. If you want a little bit more, make sure you join the everydayer all access club. You can go to it right now. Lockdownbroncos.com. Sign up today and get a free month with promo code, free agency. Yes, you can get a free month of the Everydayer Club where you get access

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Starting point is 00:09:19 There's nothing substantive behind this. This is just speculation when we're looking at the tea leaves here. If, in fact, Jared Stidham does get traded. If the Broncos do that, which, as to my knowledge right now, I'm not sure the Broncos are interested in that, but that could obviously always change depending on what a team is willing to give them. If it's capital for them to make more moves to upgrade the roster, certainly they'll do that.

Starting point is 00:09:41 But I think Zach Wilson is one of those names to watch. If Jared Stidham is traded, I could see the Broncos going back to Zach Wilson and trying to make him the backup quarterback. Now, obviously, he signed with Miami Dolphins last offseason and spent time there. Quinn Ewers obviously ended up being the premier guy to take over after Tuatungo Viloa got benched there. But I think for Zach Wilson, his athleticism, his mobility, obviously his arm strength, I think when you look at maybe a stylistic profile comparison to Bo Nix, Zach Wilson probably is an upgrade at quarterback here for Denver over a guy like Jared Stidham. And I think we can all imagine in our minds what would the Broncos have done of Zach Wilson with his athleticism, his ability to playoff schedule, to make plays and use his legs. Would that have made a little bit of a difference in aFC championship?

Starting point is 00:10:30 Maybe, maybe not, right? It's crazy to kind of go back and look at that. But I think where the appeal is for Wilson to come back and be a potential backup here, that is on the table if, in fact, Jarstitam goes elsewhere. Now, look, I think you can look at other free agent quarterback options, right? Denver's not going to have interest in Aaron Rogers, Russell Wilson. Marcus Marriota might be an interesting option considering his mobility, his ability to use his legs there. That might be something. But Zach Wilson was the top guy that stood out to me.

Starting point is 00:10:56 And there's other guys that are going to certainly be available out there. Depends on where you want to go. Malik Willis, not going to be an option for Denver. He's probably going to land a starting job. And it would not surprise me if he actually ends up in Miami as the starting quarterback there for them. Brett Ripin, former Broncos, obviously, in the mix as a free agent this year. I don't think that would be the case here in the Mile High City, as much as I love Brett Rippin. That's my guy.

Starting point is 00:11:20 He's always been good to me, very, very smart quarterback. To me, the clear-cut option would be Zach Wilson over bringing back Sam Ellinger, in my opinion. And I'm curious for your thoughts on that Broncos country, because I really do believe, like for Zach at this point, what NFL team out there is going to have a starting job open for him, right? Maybe a team that I talked about with potential interest in Jerusalem like the Arizona Cardinals, maybe they would have some interest in Zach Wilson. But I can't see a scenario where Zach is going to go and start for an NFL team this offseason. And ultimately, that could change.

Starting point is 00:11:55 We could see that. Maybe Minnesota with Kevin O'Connell, but very unlikely at this point. But it wouldn't surprise me if you do see some of these quarterback options, go out there and free agency and maybe go to a place where they feel like they can rehabilitate their image, right? Like, look what Sam Darnel did. he went to San Francisco for a year, rehabilitated himself under Kyle Shanahan. Then he ended up going to the Minnesota Vikings, ended up balling out over there, 14 wins, and then he goes to Seattle, balls out, wins a Super Bowl. I mean, the path might be there.

Starting point is 00:12:26 That might be the most appealing area there for them going forward. But Zach Wilson, in my opinion, for what Denver needs from a backup quarterback, I feel like you have to have somebody that's similar to your quarterback from an athleticism standpoint. I'm not saying that Zach Wilson is Bo Nix or vice versa. That Bo Nix is Zach Wilson. I'm saying stylistically from an athleticism standpoint, they are very similar compared to where you have Gerritsidim who wasn't as athletic as Bo. And so you have to maybe change some of the things you're doing from an offensive standpoint.

Starting point is 00:12:55 If your quarterback gets injured, your starter gets injured, Jarrett Stidom, no disrespect to him. There are things that he couldn't do that Bo Nix did really well. The athleticism, the mobility, the ability to avoid. sacks. We saw him struggle with that in comparison of what we've seen from Bo Nix, whereas I think stylistically, Zach Wilson actually fits that bill a little bit better and that actually might make more sense for them going forward here. But Broncos country, let me know your thoughts on today's bonus episode of the show. If in fact the Broncos do look at trading Jared Stedham,

Starting point is 00:13:28 as reported by Diana Rusini with some of the interest that he's garnering around the NFL, would you welcome Zach Wilson back in as the potential backup to Oneix. Interesting question to float out here as we get going throughout the offseason, NFL free agency is going to begin next week. Obviously, on Monday, the legal negotiating period opens up and then Wednesday NFL free agency frenzy. So guess what? As always, you're going to get your regular Lockdown Broncos episode, but you're going to get your shorter bonus episodes as well all throughout the entire year. We got you covered.

Starting point is 00:13:59 Lockdown Broncos is the place to be. Make sure you check out the Everydayer Club promo code free agency. Get you a free month to the Everydayer Club at Lockdownbroncos. that's supercast.com. Make sure you check it out. Let us know your thoughts here on today's bonus episode of show. Broncos Country, Sarah and myself, we're going to see you tomorrow for a brand new episode of the show.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - RUMOR: Denver Broncos Backup QB Jarrett Stidham Receiving TRADE INTEREST

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