It feels like a given at this point that Russell Wilson will not be back in Denver as the Broncos’ starting quarterback in 2024.

That begs the question, who should be under center for Sean Payton’s team. Does Jarrett Stidham deserve a longer look than he’s gotten this season or should the team look elsewhere, either in the draft or free agency?

Our Chris Tomasson and Tyler King debate:

Chris Tomasson, Broncos beat writer

On Sept. 8, 2024, get ready for the continuation of the Stiddy Show.

That’s when the Broncos are expected to open next season and there’s a good chance Stidham will be their starting quarterback.

Stidham is in the midst of a two-game audition for the job. In his first Broncos start last Sunday, after replacing Russell Wilson, he might not have gotten a curtain call after the 16-9 win over the Chargers, but he certainly wasn’t booed off the stage. He completed 20 of 32 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers and a passer rating of 93.8.

Stidham again will start Sunday at Las Vegas ahead of Wilson, who also certainly won’t be back next season with Denver.

The Broncos will incur a huge salary-cap hit after letting Wilson go, so they won’t have a bunch of money to bring in a marquee quarterback. And Stidham, who signed a two-year, $10-million deal, is on the books next season for a $7 million cap hit, which is tiny by quarterback standards.

The Broncos will select in the middle of the first round of the draft. And there’s no guarantee they would be able to land a quarterback able to step in right away as the starter. But they could bring a rookie along slowly with the possibility that he will take over behind center in 2025.

The Broncos could do a lot worse than have Stidham as their starter next season. In his first career start, on Jan. 1, 2023, he threw for 365 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-34 overtime loss to powerful San Francisco at Allegiant Stadium.

Stidham will be back at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday. Barring the game being a complete disaster, he should be in position as the Broncos’ starter when their 65th season gets underway in September.

Tyler King, college sports reporter

Surprise, surprise, the college sports guy thinks the Broncos should draft a quarterback in the first round. But that’s exactly what they need to do in April.

Woody Paige was exactly right with his column in Thursday’s Denver Gazette, it should be one of Oregon’s Bo Nix and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr.

Payton would love Nix and his 77% completion rate in 14 games with the Ducks this season. Anyone who watched him in 2023 can see that he’s completely different from the wildly inconsistent player he was to start his career at Auburn.

Yes, he played with a really good offensive line and had speedy wide receivers running wide open the last two years. But Nix is still a dynamic player with the ball in his hands and can get yards with his legs when things break down.

While Nix might be the safer pick, Penix likely has the higher ceiling.

Anyone who watched him lead the Huskies past Texas in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day saw how good of a deep ball he throws. Just imagine him firing the ball downfield to Courtland Sutton a few times each game next season.

Regardless of who the team’s preference is, they have to give a rookie a shot next season. As Paige also mentioned yesterday, the Broncos have only drafted five first round QBs in franchise history.

It’s time to stop relying on veterans in trades/free agency.

As Wilson has shown, not every big-name quarterback addition is Peyton Manning.

Sure, the rate of first round quarterbacks that are successful is under 50%, but it’s time for the Broncos to start taking some bites at the apple.