Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton confirmed this week that Bo Nix will be the team’s starting quarterback to begin the 2024 season. Nix beat out Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson for the role.

“Bo Nix is going to be our starting quarterback,” Payton told reporters Wednesday. “I felt like, and I said this to you guys two weeks ago, that [quarterback] room has been outstanding. … He’s been outstanding. Obviously, there’s a ton of room for growth; there’s a lot of things that he needs to work on.”

The Broncos selected Nix, who spent five years in college playing for Auburn and then Oregon, in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft with the 12th overall pick. Based on the team’s activity in the off-season, however, which included acquiring Wilson from the Jets, it was not always clear if Nix would start out of the gate.

Stidham and Wilson were not considered especially stiff competition for a QB1 battle, with one carrying on as a journeyman backup and the other coming off a disappointing stint in New York. Still, Nix could have benefitted from sitting behind a credible starter for a time and prepare more for the professional level.

Speaking to reporters, Payton believes that the rookie is the best option for the team coming out of training camp.

“I would say a lot of the off-schedule movement throws, and I think he’s been consistent,” Payton said when asked about why Nix won the starting job. “It’s not really a reflection on Jarrett or even Zach, it’s some of the things [Nix] has been able to do pretty quickly — his arm strength down the field, all the things that when we evaluated him, you kind of trust your instincts.”

The Broncos are coming off another dreadful season in which Russell Wilson tried, and failed, to recapture some of the success he had with the Seahawks. After parting ways with the veteran, Denver drafted Nix and has tried to catch him up to speed with the help of Stidham and others. He will be the first rookie to start Week 1 since John Elway in 1983.

The Denver Broncos will reportedly cut or trade quarterback Russell Wilson at the end of the 2023 season. With the team effectively eliminated from playoff contention, Wilson will be replaced by backup Jarrett Stidham for the next two weeks.

Wilson’s impending departure was first reported Wednesday, with sources also claiming that the team has spent much of the season trying to restructure his contract. As is, the quarterback is scheduled to receive $39 million in 2024 and $37 million in 2025. That 2025 money would become guaranteed if Wilson was still on the team in March.

Wilson seemed to respond to the reports late Wednesday night on social media.

“God’s got me,” Wilson wrote. “Looking forward to what’s next.”

After nearly two full seasons with the Broncos, it is fair now to consider Wilson’s tenure in Denver disappointing. Since moving on from Seattle in 2022, the quarterback has only thrown for 300 yards in a single game on three occasions. His overall passer rating as a Bronco is 90.9.

As for the team’s performance during his tenure, Denver has struggled accordingly. Under two different head coaches since Wilson arrived, the team has fallen well below once-lofty expectations and earned a combined 12-20 record. In an AFC West division dominated by the Chiefs, the Broncos have never seriously challenged them and have more closely resembled the hapless Raiders and dysfunctional Chargers.

It is unlikely that Stidham is a permanent solution under center for Denver, though the team seems to be sitting Wilson to give him more snaps. Stidham most recently played for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022 and previously made a handful of starts for the New England Patriots.

As things stand now, the Broncos have a 7-8 record and would receive the 14th pick in the upcoming draft, leaving them well out of contention to receive the most promising 2023 quarterback prospects. The team will have to deal with cap space issues regardless of whether it trades or releases Wilson, though the amount of guaranteed money that the team absorbs depends on the terms of his departure.

The Las Vegas Raiders announced Wednesday that quarterback Derek Carr would “step away” from the team for the remainder of the season. With Carr at the helm in 15 starts in 2022, the team has earned a 6-9 record despite lofty expectations before the season. Backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham is scheduled to start Week 17.

When the Raiders acquired star wide receiver Davante Adams from the Green Bay Packers, it was a franchise-defining move for a team that always seemed to have potential. After reaching the playoffs in 2021, many analysts speculated that Adams was exactly what Carr would need to lead Las Vegas to a potential championship.

In some weeks, the team has lived up to those expectations. Adams has intermittently shone as the team’s top receiver while Josh Jacobs has improved dramatically to become one of the best running backs in the league. Las Vegas has defeated the Chargers and Seahawks, teams with legitimate playoff hopes, while contending with Super Bowl contenders like the Chiefs and 49ers.

But there have been inexcusable setbacks along the way too. They suffered a defeat to the lowly Colts in interim head coach Jeff Saturday’s debut in Week 10. Saturday hasn’t won a game since. Then, they lost again in shocking fashion in Week 14, giving up two late touchdowns to the Los Angeles Rams led by emergency quarterback Baker Mayfield.

The team’s erratic performance over the course of this season is not entirely due to Carr’s play, as head coach Josh McDaniels and the team’s subpar defense can also take part of the blame. But the fact remains that Carr has been painfully average despite excellent offensive contributors around him — he currently ranks 11th in passing yards, eighth in touchdowns and 24th in quarterback rating. He leads the league in interceptions with 14.

In Las Vegas’ game against the Rams, Carr completed 11 of 20 pass attempts for 137 yards. In terms of quarterback rating, he earned a 40.3, making it the fourth worst game of his season. On Oct. 30, he threw for 101 yards in a 24-0 loss to the Saints, earning a 15.0.

Stidham is a former Patriots backup quarterback that has shown glimmers of promise over the course of his career, but the decision to put him in for Carr is not a hopeful one. This is a matter of self-preservation for Las Vegas — a white flag as the team limps to the off-season.

Even then, things may not improve immediately, as the team will enter the 2023 NFL Draft without the first and second round picks it gave to the Packers for Adams. Earlier this year, Carr signed a three-year, $120 million extension, virtually ensuring his presence on the Raiders’ roster for the foreseeable future.

All must be forgiven for the Tuck Rule game, as the New England Patriots are trading backup QB Jarrett Stidham to the Las Vegas Raiders. The teams will flip late-round draft picks in the deal, sources say.

Once the heir apparent to future Fox analyst Tom Brady, Stidham will fight for a backup role behind Derek Carr in the silver and black. Nick Mullens and Garrett Gilbert will be his competition.

Raiders first-year coach Josh McDaniels was Stidham’s offensive coordinator in New England the past three seasons, so that may have had something to do with the deal.

Stidham—who has one year remaining on his contract with a base salary of $965,000—was set to be New England’s QB following Brady’s departure in 2020, but the team signed Cam Newton and Brian Hoyer won the backup role.

Mac Jones won the starting job last year, and the Pats’ fourth-round draft choice of Western Kentucky QB Bailey Zappe spelled further trouble for his playing time.

In eight games—no starts—over three seasons, he’s completed 48 of 124 passes for 270 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions.

As Tom Brady departed for Tampa Bay last week on a two-year, $50 million deal, last year’s second-string quarterback on New England’s roster Jarrett Stidham has been discussed as a potential replacement. Team captain Devin McCourty informed fans of the potential Stidham’s shown in practice last year including his ability to read defenses effectively.

“To me, the best thing for Stiddy was that he had to go against our defense every week. He didn’t have it easy,” McCourty said Sunday on his Double Coverage podcast. “I love his poise. I would be faking a blitz sometimes and we’d make eye contact and he’d just start smiling and laughing.”

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He later added, “To me, there were weeks where he was just on-point. And those were some of our best weeks as a defense, mainly because Stiddy ate us up in practice leading up to the game, and I think put more pressure on us. So I really admire just how hard he works, and then I’ve got to know him off the field as well. He’s a really good guy. Young guy, but very mature. He’s married. I think the Stidhams are going to be in New England for a long time.”

The 23-year-old was drafted in the fourth round in 2019 out of Auburn and was able to impress coaches enough to move ahead of Brian Hoyer on the depth chart. Hoyer has since re-signed on a one-year deal and fifth-year quarterback Cody Kessler will remain the third quarterback on the roster.

McCourty revealed that Bill Belichick would regularly test Stidham to run opposing team’s offenses and throw different defensive packages at him to evaluate his ability. McCourty also mentioned that the defense would comically talk trash to Stidham during those sessions.

McCourty later praised Hoyer’s leadership skills following the Patriots’ decision to re-sign the 34-year-old veteran quarterback who may take on a mentor role for Stidham.

“He has a veteran presence. He’s played on multiple teams. He knows our offense very well,” McCourty said on the podcast. “I think he’ll bring experience and knowledge, and if he has to go out there and play, he’s going to compete at a high level. Or if it’s coaching up young quarterbacks, I think he’s a guy that’s going to be very necessary to have in our locker room.”