ORLANDO, Fla. — The Broncos are likely not done adding at the quarterback position.
Head Coach Sean Payton emphasized Monday that while Jarrett Stidham will compete for Denver's starting role, "there will be other candidates" to be the Broncos' starting quarterback.
"He's definitely competing to be the starter," Payton said of Stidham from the 2024 NFL Annual Meeting. "I don't think we have a term 'driver's seat' really [of who's ahead in the competition]. He is going to compete for that position. I know he's anxious and excited to do that."
General Manager George Paton echoed Payton's sentiment, as he said the Broncos are "still in the quarterback market" as the 2024 NFL Draft approaches.
"We like 'Stiddy,' but we're going to add," Paton said. "We are not panicked. We won't play games for a while. We feel like we will add a veteran, and we'll see about the draft."
Paton said the Broncos were "involved" in the free-agent quarterback market, which saw nearly two dozen quarterbacks change teams via free agency or a trade. Both Paton and Payton, though, said the Broncos were careful not to sign the wrong quarterback.
"We talked about all these quarterbacks," Paton said. "Some just weren't great fits for what we're trying to do. We didn't just want to add one to add one. Then you multiply your problem. There were some quarterbacks we liked, it just didn't work out. That's a part of free agency."
In Stidham, the Broncos have a veteran quarterback with whom they are familiar. The 2023 free-agent signing started a pair of games for Denver to end the season and completed 60.6 percent of his passes for 496 yards, two touchdowns and an interception as he posted a 1-1 record.
"Relative to his vision [as a player], it's kind of exactly where we saw it a year ago," Payton said. "We felt like this is a player who can compete, and we felt like he has some upside. [He's] a young player that has really played a limited amount of snaps relative to the years he has been in the league. Did anything change in those last two games leading to this season? I can't say in fairness to him or the process definitively that anything did, other than we still feel really positive about this player. We're anxious to see him when he's getting a lot more snaps and work with the [first team]"
Payton said he doesn't believe the Broncos have seen Stidham's ceiling as a player, but he said he's "anxious to see where that spot is."
As the Broncos look for a player to join Stidham and Ben DiNucci in their quarterback room, Paton said the Broncos have also explored the trade market. And, of course, the Broncos have done their due diligence as they continue to prepare for the draft.
Payton revealed the Broncos held a private workout for Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, and Paton said the Broncos have held those workouts for other players, as well. During the individual meetings — which lasted four to five hours in McCarthy's case — Payton and Paton aim, in part, to see how the player digests information.
"I'd like to find out how they process, how quickly it comes," Payton said. "If we send him information at 5 p.m. the prior day, we send him more than we think they're going to have a chance to study. We've all been in that position. It may not have been football. But 5 p.m. on a college Thursday, test on Friday and more than we have enough time to study. How do they handle that? Where's the break point the next day? Is there one? Do they handle it really well? Do they really struggle? What time are they at the facility? Have they been preparing? Are they early? It's interesting. It's fascinating. These guys — they're not kids — but it's a good group when we're talking about some of these younger quarterbacks that, man, certainly they're prepared. They've been well-coached. They've been well-coached in college relative to the game. You see the success on the field."
Paton called the lead-up to the draft "a race for information" — and several teams could also be in a race toward the top of the draft board. With a slew of talented quarterbacks, several teams have been mentioned as potential trade-up candidates. Payton said "it's realistic" the Broncos could be among the teams to trade up, but he also noted the uncertainty of what it would cost.
"I think it's realistic," Payton said. "… It's realistic. What's hard to predict, though, is what's on the receiving end? I think it's good to be [Cardinals General Manager] Monti [Ossenfort] today at Arizona. It's hard to predict what the cost is, and yet, I certainly wouldn't say that it's unrealistic. We will pay close attention to it."
Paton said he's talked to "most of the teams" ahead of the Broncos' 12th-overall pick and "a lot" of teams who will pick after.
"It is a little early, but I know who's willing to move," Paton said. "You kind of know the teams that are typically willing to move. You always want to know how much it is to move up and then the same with how much you get if you move back. We will have a good lay of the land by the time we get two weeks ahead of the draft."
The uncertainty of which player — or players — will join the quarterback room has likely created both excitement and anxiety for Denver's fan base, but Payton, Paton and the Broncos are not worried.
"I would rather the angst be now rather than in September and October," Payton said.
