The Denver Broncos got a taste of what Jarrett Stidham would look like as the team's QB1 during the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots in January. While Stidham played reasonably well given the rushed circumstances that thrust him under center following Bo Nix's ankle injury, a Broncos squad that otherwise would've been favored to win it all put up seven points in the season-ending loss.
Perhaps it's no surprise that June chatter as OTAs begin revolves around replacing Stidham as Denver's backup. ESPN's Dan Graziano floated New Orleans Saints QB Spencer Rattler, who ceded the starting spot in the Big Easy to Tyler Shough and probably isn't getting it back, as a potential target for the Broncos. Graziano's thinking is that Sean Payton's ties to the Saints from his Super Bowl-winning tenure could help facilitate a deal for Rattler.
“Rattler actually won that competition and started the Saints’ first eight games, but Shough took over and finished strong. The Saints enter 2026 with Shough firmly entrenched as their starter and determined to build around him for the long term. The team signed former No. 2 pick Zach Wilson this offseason to add to its QB room. If Rattler’s the odd man out, he should generate interest," Graziano wrote.
“His 14 NFL starts haven’t been great (the Saints lost 13 of them), but they do constitute the kind of experience teams prize when looking for backup/developmental QBs. Rattler is also 25, so he could still have a career ahead of him as an NFL quarterback somewhere other than New Orleans. Broncos coach Sean Payton still has strong ties to the Saints, and that could be a team to watch if there’s any change to its backup QB plans."
Jarrett Stidham would be the Broncos' odd man out with a Spencer Rattler trade
Stidham's roughly $6 million salary doesn't break the bank, but it's not the kind of amount that you'd continue paying after taking on Rattler's nearly $4.5 million. It would cost just $2 million to cut ties with Stidham, who got most of his $7 million guaranteed payout in 2025. The dead cap would be $3.5 million, though.
Denver re-signed Sam Ehlinger in the offseason to a $2 million contract. That is a QB3 salary. It would make sense for Ehlinger to be a QB3 behind Stidham or Rattler if Nix has injury issues that don't allow him to start in September. Nix is expected to return in time for Week 1, though. There won't be four QBs on this roster.
That makes Stidham the odd man out in the event of a Rattler trade. There would be other opportunities out there for Stidham, maybe even as an emergency fill-in should the planets align somewhere. It'd be the end of the Auburn Tigers connection, though. Stidham handed the baton off to Nix on the Plains in 2019 when he went to the NFL, while Nix did the same before the AFC Championship Game.
Is all of this likely? Truthfully, we won't know until the offseason progresses further. It's something to watch, though, after Graziano put this situation on the radar.
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