ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — They can outspend all other 31 NFL teams in free agency. They can move around to take three new players on Day 2 of the NFL Draft.
The 2023 Broncos are still about how quarterback Russell Wilson plays with new head coach Sean Payton.
If Wilson can play like any of his first 10 seasons in Seattle, the Broncos should post a winning season for the first time in seven years. If he plays like he did in his first season with the Broncos last year, Denver’s skid without a playoff appearance will extend to eight years.
It’s that simple.
Here’s a look at the Broncos’ quarterback position in 2023:
Starter: Russell Wilson
After his contract extension netted $57 million in cash -- signing bonus and salary last year -- Wilson will be paid a team-friendly $28 million in cash this year.
He ranked in the top 10 in passer rating in nine of his first 10 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, ranking 14th with a still-quality 92.6 passer rating in the lone exception of 2016.
In his first season in Denver, Wilson ranked 27th with a career-low 84.4 rating. He threw just 16 touchdown passes, another career-low, against 11 interceptions while the Broncos’ offense finished No. 32 in scoring with a meager 16.9 points per game.
Wilson should improve dramatically this year now that Payton is his head coach and the offensive line has been fortified with newcomers Mike McGlinchey ($17.5 million) at right tackle and Ben Powers ($13 million) at left guard for a combined $30.5 million.
In his 15 years as the New Orleans Saints’ head coach, Payton's teams ranked No. 1 in scoring three times and ranked in the top-10 10 times.
Wilson is 34 and appears to have slimmed down after he took an NFL-most 55 sacks last season. A stronger running game, Payton’s coaching and a quicker Wilson should lead to better quarterback play this season.
No. 2: Jarrett Stidham
One of the more surprising moves by the Broncos this offseason but also one with tantalizing possibilities.
On the surface, the two-year, $10 million contract the Broncos paid Stidham seems a bit rich for a quarterback who through his first four NFL seasons is 0-2 with six touchdown passes against seven interceptions.
But like Matt Schaub and Matt Flynn before him, the Broncos are projecting Stidham for greater things based on his two NFL starts. In his first start for a poor Raiders team last January, he lost a 37-34 shootout to the 49ers, who entering the game were the NFL’s top scoring defense. Stidham threw for 365 yards and three touchdowns in the game, although he also threw two interceptions.
The following week against the eventual Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs, Stidham completed 22 of 36 passes for 219 yards a touchdown and an interception while also rushing for 50 yards.
So there’s something there according to the film eyes of Payton and general manager George Paton. Stidham will make $4 million this year and has $1 million fully guaranteed of his $6 million in 2024.
Others: Jarrett Guarantano, Ben DiNucci
For now, Guarantano, 25, is the Broncos’ No. 3 quarterback. He played well for the Arizona Cardinals in the preseason last year as a rookie and was signed to the Broncos’ practice squad last December 6. Two weeks later he was a game-day, call-up as the No. 2 quarterback for Brett Rypien in a win against the Arizona Cardinals.
DiNucci is a more intriguing possibility. For now he is getting a tryout next weekend when the Broncos hold their rookie minicamp. A fifth-round draft pick of the Cowboys in 2020, DiNucci was forced to start one game as a rookie because of injuries to Dak Prescott and Andy Dalton. DiNucci didn’t play badly, completing 21 of 40 for 180 yards with no interceptions in a 23-9 loss at Philadelphia.
DiNucci also played well off the bench for Dallas against the Broncos last year in a preseason game at Empower Field at Mile High, completing 9 of 16 for 112 yards and a touchdown. Cut by the Cowboys prior to the setting of their 2022 season-opening roster, DiNucci, 26, caught on with the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL and led the league by far with 2,671 passing yards, 242 completions and 374 attempts while finishing second with 20 touchdown passes. He also led the XFL with 13 picks.
Gone but not forgotten: Brett Rypien
The Broncos’ No. 2 quarterback last year who went 1-1 in relief of the injured Wilson, Rypien recently signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Rams where he will compete with rookie Stetson Bennett for the No. 2 job behind Matthew Stafford.
On the way up: Stidham
Josh McDaniels was his offensive coordinator for three years in New England and then his head coach last year for the Las Vegas Raiders. Of all the backup QBs available in free agency this spring, Payton chose Stidham. At the very least, Stidham can give Wilson something to think about during training camp and the preseason.
Key to 2023: Wilson
As in the key to all things Broncos this year is nothing other than Russell Wilson.
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