The Denver Broncos ushered in a new chapter by parting ways with quarterback Russell Wilson.
That puts more pressure on head coach Sean Payton, who must now select a new franchise quarterback. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, Payton is confident in his ability to do so.
“Sean Payton legitimately believes that he’s gonna find a quarterback or develop a quarterback, whether Jarrett Stidham is the guy, or they draft a quarterback high,” the coach stated.
Schefter mentioned that Payton likes the experienced Stidham, who finished the 2023 season for a benched Wilson, before going on:
Schefter then pointed out that Payton is on a five-year contract for up to $100 million and has the freedom and faith of ownership to do whatever he believes is required to right the ship in Denver.
“But if you enter into a contract like that and it does not work out, you will have to take your medicine at some point. So they’re saying, “You know what, we’ll take it now and get through it.”
Denver might very well be in the running to select a quarterback in this year’s draft. The difficulty is that the team is ranked 12th overall, trailing just a few teams who will very certainly (or undoubtedly) draft a quarterback in the first round. As a result, the Broncos may have to make some moves to land a blue-chip prospect or wait and hope for the best with a lesser-known player.
Finally, Payton believes he can locate that quarterback and put a stop to the team’s quarterback merry-go-round that began with the retirement of Peyton Manning in 2015.
