The Broncos have named rookie Bo Nix the starter. Jarrett Stidham will start the final preseason game and play “eight to 12 snaps,” with Zach Wilson playing the rest of the way.
The team kept only two quarterbacks on its roster last year, but coach Sean Payton said Friday that the Broncos could keep all three quarterbacks on the 53 this year.
“Sure, certainly,” Payton said, via Jeff Legwold of ESPN. “I know the rule recently changed . . . that if you do, that third [quarterback] comes up [to the game-day roster] without any count. But ultimately, I think most importantly, you’re really looking at your assets when you make that decision.”
The three quarterbacks had a competition for the starting job, with Nix, Stidham and Wilson splitting work with the first team throughout the offseason program and the first week of training camp. Nix eventually won the job, becoming the team’s first rookie quarterback to start the season opener since John Elway in 1983.
The Broncos still list Stidham as the starter, with Wilson No. 2 and Nix No. 3 on their depth chart, which obviously isn’t up to date.
“We’ve got a pretty good idea the direction we’re going,” Payton said of roster decisions at quarterback. “I think we’ve got a real good handle on that room specifically. I’ve said it, and I’ll say it again, I like that room.”