During the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots this past January, the Denver Broncos got a preview of what Jarrett Stidham could offer as their starting quarterback. Despite performing decently under the pressure of replacing an injured Bo Nix on short notice, Stidham led the team to just seven points in a season-ending loss that Denver otherwise would have been favored to win.
So it’s not entirely shocking that, as OTAs kick off in June, discussions about replacing Stidham as Denver’s backup QB are heating up. ESPN’s Dan Graziano has floated New Orleans Saints QB Spencer Rattler who lost his starting role to Tyler Shough and seems unlikely to regain it as a possible Broncos target. Graziano suggests that Sean Payton’s Super Bowl-winning history with the Saints could help grease the wheels for a Rattler trade.
“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 odd man out in Denver if a Spencer Rattler trade happens
Stidham’s $6 million salary isn’t exorbitant, but it would be hard to justify keeping him while adding Rattler’s nearly $4.5 million. Cutting Stidham would cost just $2 million he already received most of his $7 million guaranteed payout in 2025 though the dead cap hit would be $3.5 million.
Denver re-signed Sam Ehlinger to a $2 million deal this offseason, a QB3 salary. It would make sense for Ehlinger to serve as the third-stringer behind either Stidham or Rattler in case Nix, who is expected back by Week 1, suffers an injury that sidelines him in September. The Broncos won’t carry four quarterbacks on the roster.
That means Stidham would be the one pushed out in a Rattler trade. He’d likely find opportunities elsewhere perhaps as an emergency fill-in under the right circumstances. Still, it would mark the end of the Auburn Tigers connection in Denver: Stidham handed the reins to Nix at Auburn in 2019 before leaving for the NFL, and Nix did the same ahead of the AFC Championship Game.
Is any of this likely? Honestly, we won’t know until the offseason unfolds further. But with Graziano putting the situation on the radar, it’s definitely something to keep an eye on.
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