2 Former Auburn football QBs trending in opposite directions in Broncos QB battle

Two former Auburn football quarterbacks, the No. 12 pick of the 2024 NFL draft Bo Nix and Jarrett Stidham, are battling for the chance to be the Denver Broncos' starter during the 2024 season along with former New York Jets QB1 Zach Wilson.

While Stidham raced out to an early lead in the Broncos' QB competition, outcompeting Nix in the first few weeks, Wilson was also lauded for his "lively arm" and looked like a potential option for Sean Payton to hand the keys to the offense to.

Per Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith, though, Nix is back on top and it doesn't look like he'll be ceding starter status based on the -400 odds the Heisman finalist was given by DraftKings to start. Wilson has the second-best odds at +450 and Stidham is given the longest at +650.

Former Auburn football QB Jarrett Stidham runs risk of being cut by Broncos

Stidham falling all the way to the back of the line is not good for his long-term prospects in the Mile High City or elsewhere. As a 2019 draftee, Stidham is no longer a spring chicken like Nix or even Wilson, a 2021 draftee. This was his chance to earn a starting job in an inexperienced QB room, but he doesn't look likely to even land the backup job.

It's unclear if any of the NFL's 32 teams have room for Stidham right now if Denver decides to cut him. QBs with real-time experience are valuable, and there figures to be an opportunity sometime during the season due to injuries, but the game is passing Stidham by as more and more QBs from the college ranks flood the market and make him a less attractive target.

The UFL is always an option, but it felt like Stidham had a legitimate chance to replace Russell Wilson as the Broncos' QB1. Now, with his falling behind even Wilson, he looks like a sure-fire cut candidate before the season.