Should the Broncos re-sign Zach Wilson?

Should the Denver Broncos re-sign quarterback Zach Wilson?

A few days before the 2024 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos added to their quarterback room by trading for former number two overall pick Zach Wilson. At the time, the Broncos just had Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci on the roster, so Wilson added some much-needed depth and competition to the room. As we know, the Broncos would go on to draft Bo Nix with their 12th overall selection in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but Wilson would be part of the conversation moving forward.

The Broncos acquired Zach Wilson for basically nothing. They sent one of their sixth-round selections to the Jets for Wilson and a seventh-round pick while the Jets are also paid a portion of his remaining $5.45 million dollar salary. So, this was a low-risk, high-reward addition for the Broncos who had uncertainty at their quarterback position at that time.

The former number two overall selection was a bust with the Jets and needed a change of scenery. He landed with the Broncos, Sean Payton, and quarterbacks coach David Webb hoping to revitalize his career. While he was part of the Broncos’ quarterback competition, he was behind Nix and Stidham throughout the process and spent the season as the Broncos’ third-string quarterback. He did flash his talent during the preseason, but ultimately, we did not see much of Wilson this past year. That, however, had to be the plan. Wilson needed a red-shirt year to move on from the damage that was done with the Jets and learn and grow from the Broncos’ experienced offensive coaching staff.

Now, he is on the verge of entering free agency as a bit of a wildcard. He has second overall pick pedigree, legit arm talent, and athleticism you look for in a quarterback, and could benefit from a weak quarterback market.

Could Wilson re-sign with the Broncos this offseason and serve as Bo Nix’s backup or will get an opportunity to start elsewhere and move on after just one season with the team?

Why QB Zach Wilson will re-sign with the Broncos

Both Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson are free agents this offseason and the Broncos will probably re-sign one of them to be their backup quarterback. If they want the quarterback with the higher upside, then they likely would prefer to re-sign Wilson.

Zach Wilson has the arm talent and athleticism to be a starter in the league, he just needs development everywhere else. His time with the Jets was a mess and it hindered his development. However, we saw growth and improvement in his play during training camp and preseason after just a few months with the Broncos. I would imagine Wilson would like to stick around and continue to grow, learn, and develop under Sean Payton and quarterbacks coach Davis Webb. He can continue to revitalize his career with the Broncos and hopefully, earn himself a starting job in the future like Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, and others have recently. He is just 25 years old too, so this could be a nice long-term project for the Broncos and Sean Payton.

If Wilson were to prove he can be a starting-caliber player again, the Broncos could either trade him for picks or let him walk and gain a compensatory pick in return.

Another reason it would make sense to sign Wilson over Stidham is experience. You would assume Stidham, the veteran backup, would have more experience in the league, but that’s not the case. Stidham only has 4 career starts while Wilson has 33. If Bo Nix were ever to miss some time, Wilson would be able to step right in and his past starting experience should benefit him.

It just would make more sense to re-sign the younger, higher-upside player with more starting experience to be your backup quarterback.

Why QB Zach Wilson will NOT re-sign with the Broncos

Despite being the younger player with more upside and starting experience, he was the Broncos’ third-string quarterback all season. He never truly threatened Jarrett Stidham’s backup role this season so the Broncos may view Stidham as the superior player. As I noted, Sean Payton has praised him multiple times in the media and seems to trust him to run his offense and be a good quarterback in this league. Wilson comes with some more risk and may not be the type of quarterback Payton wants as his backup.

The other reason is Wilson getting a better opportunity elsewhere. Bo Nix is the Broncos starter and barring an injury, his backup will only play during the preseason or mop-up duty. Wilson could test the free agent market and see if there is an opportunity for him to start again.

There are a lot of teams who will be in the market for quarterbacks this offseason and someone like Wilson could benefit from the weak quarterback market. There won’t be many free agent candidates available and this appears to be a much weaker quarterback draft than the one we saw last season. Add in the success of rehab quarterbacks like Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield and some desperate team could roll the dice on Wilson and raise his price out of the Broncos range.

I would not expect Jarrett Stidham’s market to be as hot and the team that believes in him the most may very well be the Broncos. So, it is very possible that Wilson walks this offseason while the Broncos re-sign steady Jarrett Stidham to be their backup.

Final Thoughts

Wilson is a bit of an X-factor this offseason. You can make a legitimate case as to why he should and probably would want to re-sign with the Broncos. It’s a good situation, he is much closer to home and could use this time to improve as a player and eventually get himself a starting job elsewhere.

However, he could be a popular under-the-radar player in free agency. With it being a weak quarterback market, a team could roll the dice on Wilson and hope they found the next Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield. This would give Wilson an opportunity he would not get with the Broncos and likely more money.

Of the two, I would prefer to re-sign Wilson but Stidham is probably the more realistic choice of the two. He appears to be a Payton guy, would give the Broncos a reliable veteran backup, and shouldn’t cost all that much.