Meet Jarrett Stidham, the former 5-star QB now tasked with leading Denver to Super Bowl LX

Jarrett Stidham, step right up. 

The Broncos quarterback is now in line to start in the AFC Championship next Sunday after starter Bo Nix suffered a fracture in his right ankle during Denver's overtime win against the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round. Nix's injury will require surgery and sideline him for the rest of the season, meaning it'll be up to Stidham to help Denver advance to Super Bowl LX and possibly hoist its first Lombardi Trophy in a decade. 

That's a mighty tall order for the 29-year-old, who has just four career starts under his belt. Stidham's last regular-season pass in the NFL came all the way back in Week 18 of the 2023 campaign. Now, he'll be entrusted with a team that earned the No. 1 seed in the conference and boasts one of the top defenses in the league. However, that won't mean anything if Stidham can't answer the bell, but there does appear to be internal confidence in the veteran quarterback. 

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"I would say this, in fairness to what you've seen, which is very limited: He's ready," head coach Sean Payton told reporters of Stidham, via the official team website. "He's ready. I said this at the beginning of the season, I feel like I've got a [No. 2 quarterback] that's capable of starting for a number of teams, and I know he feels the same way. Watch out. Just watch. He's experienced, he's played in games. They're different type players to some degree."

Jarrett Stidham

DEN • QB • #8

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As Payton references, we've had a limited view of Stidham throughout his career and tenure with the Broncos, so let's get familiar with the signal caller who is set to lead Denver into the AFC Championship. 

⭐️ Five-star recruit entering college

Stidham was a highly regarded prospect coming out of high school (Stephenville, Texas), with 247Sports ranking him as a five-star recruit and the No. 1-ranked dual-threat quarterback in 2015 -- ahead of Kyler Murray (No. 2), Sam Darnold (No. 6), Joe Burrow (No. 7), and Lamar Jackson (No. 9). 

Stidham was an early Texas Tech commit, but decommitted from the Red Raiders following Patrick Mahomes' freshman season in Lubbock, in which it was clear Mahomes would be a start QB for then-coach Kliff Kinsburgy. Stidham flipped his commitment to Baylor, which had emerged as as Texas powerhouse during the early part of the decade, and got his feet fet. After beginning the year as the backup, an injury atop the depth chart saw Stidham ascend as the Bears' starter. In his first start against Kansas State, he tossed for 419 yards and had four total touchdowns. 

After the dismissal of head coach Art Briles, Stidham transferred to McClellan Junior College, where he sat out the season and maintained eligibility, then transferred to Auburn. where he went on to be named second-team All-SEC in 2017. That year, he led the Tigers to wins against No. 1-ranked Georgia and No. 1-ranked Alabama. Stidham's second season at Auburn was not as productive as the first, and he decided to forgo his final year of eligibility to declare for the 2019 NFL Draft. 

Drafted by Patriots, eyed as potential Tom Brady successor

With the 133rd overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, New England selected Stidham, who then found himself as the No. 2 on the depth chart behind Tom Brady. 

His first taste of NFL action was a forgettable experience, however. In Week 3, he came in for Brady in the fourth quarter of a blowout win over the New York Jets. After coming in, Stidham threw a pick-6 to Jamal Adams, which led to Brady coming back into the contest to finish the game. 

That was the most action Stidham saw over his rookie season. His sophomore campaign, however, did provide some intrigue, particularly in the aftermath of Brady leaving the Patriots after the 2019 season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Stidham was looked at as a possible in-house option to succeed Brady, as New England did not add a clear-cut option at quarterback in the early stages of free agency (outside of a reunion with veteran Brian Hoyer) or at the 2020 NFL Draft. While it momentarily appeared Stidham could be an option for the Patriots as the franchise began the post-Brady era, those plans changed later that summer when the club signed Cam Newton. The former NFL MVP won the starting job, and Stidham lost out on the second-string job to Hoyer, demoting him to QB3. 

Stidham came in at various points throughout the year, including a Week 4 matchup with the Chiefs after Newton was sidelined due to COVID-19 protocol, and Hoyer struggled during the contest. He threw his first career touchdown in the losing effort, but also had two interceptions. 

Despite New England's struggles throughout the year, Bill Belichick never gave Stidham a look as a starter. 

The following year, the Patriots drafted Mac Jones, and Hoyer remained as the backup, with Stidham not seeing the field at all during the 2021 season. 

Pats trade Stidham to Las Vegas

New England ended up trading Stidham to the Las Vegas Raiders in May of 2022 in what was essentially a swap of Day 3 draft picks in 2023. That deal saw Stidham reunite with Josh McDaniels, who was hired as the Raiders head coach that offseason after serving as the Patriots offensive coordinator when he entered the league. Stidham began the year as a backup to Derek Carr, but he did get a look as the club's starter at the end of the season, starting both Week 17 and Week 18 for Las Vegas. 

The club went 0-2, but Stidham's numbers weren't terrible, completing 64.3% of his passes, tossing four touchdowns and three interceptions, registering a 91.6 passer rating, and averaging 292 yards through the air. 

Joins Broncos, starts after Russell Wilson benching

In 2023, Stidham signed a two-year, $10 million deal with the Broncos, who had just acquired head coach Sean Payton in a trade with the New Orleans Saints. In a similar situation to the one he found himself in the year prior with the Raiders, Stidham became Denver's starter at the end of the season after the Broncos benched Russell Wilson. Stidham went 1-1 over those starts in Week 17 and Week 18 of the 2023 campaign, and again put up serviceable numbers. He completed 60.6% of his passes, averaged 248 passing yards per game, had two touchdowns and one interception, and registered an 87.7 passer rating. 

That Week 18 game against the Raiders was the last time Stidham had thrown a meaningful pass in the NFL, until he drops back next Sunday in the AFC Championship. In that game specifically, he was 20 of 34 for 272 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He was also sacked five times in that contest. 

Is Stidham capable of leading Denver to Super Bowl LX?

In a season as upside-down as the 2025 campaign, where quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, and Lamar Jackson were nowhere to be found this postseason, and a 44-year-old Philip Rivers came out of retirement to join the Colts, anything's possible, right? That said, this does feel like almost too big a hurdle to overcome for Stidham and the Broncos.

Before we highlight how things could go wrong, however, let's bullet some key factors that do fall in Denver's favor as they prepare for Stidham to start in the AFC Championship.

1. The AFC Championship is at home at Mile High. Stidham won't have to add playing in a road environment to his plate. Meanwhile, their opponent will have the elevation as another adversary, and that did seem to impact the Bills. 
2. Stidham is familiar with the system. Stidham has been with the Broncos since 2023, which should make him well-versed in what Sean Payton asks of quarterbacks, albeit without a ton of starting experience.
3. Stidham has started before. As we noted, Stidham doesn't have a lot of starting experience (four starts), but it's not zero, and that includes two starts with Payton's Broncos. He's not a rookie coming into this game 100% cold, which has to count for something. Stidham has also flashed a bit when given those opportunities.
4. Broncos OL has protected well. During the regular season with Nix under center, the Broncos' offensive line allowed just 23 sacks, which was tied for the fewest in the NFL. Their 32.6% pressure rate allowed was also the fifth-lowest in the league, so Stidham should have some time to throw the football. 
5. Denver's defense, in theory, could carry Stidham. In an ideal world, the Broncos take a page out of the Seahawks' book from their divisional round win over the 49ers. In that win, they didn't ask Sam Darnold (who was dealing with an oblique injury) to do much, and attempted just 17 passes in the win. Denver would love a game script where the defense -- which ranked top three in points per game (18.3), yards per game (278.2), and third down percentage (33.8%) this season -- controls the game, and only needs Stidham to make a couple of necessary throws. 

Okay, that's the glass-half-full side of the equation. The other -- possibly more realistic -- side of things paints a grim picture. First off, turnovers could prove to be a problem for Stidham in the AFC Championship. He's tossed at least one interception in all but one of his four starts, and his teams are 1-3 in those contests.

While there have already been some parallels drawn to Nick Foles leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl LII title after Carson Wentz got hurt in 2017 by those trying to hold onto a sliver of hope, it's hard to make that connection. Foles had 36 starts before joining the Eagles during that 2017 season, which included a Pro Bowl campaign in 2013. Stidham doesn't have anywhere near that same pedigree. 

Stidham will be the seventh quarterback to make his first career start of the season in the playoffs. Frank Reich is the only one of the prior six to lead his team to a win. He's also the first quarterback to make his first start in the conference championship since Roger Staubach in 1972. 

What Stidham is attempting to do is essentially unprecedented, and will need to defy history if he wants to get Denver over the hump with an AFC Championship win and a trip to Super Bowl LX.