Sean Payton Leaves Door Open for Broncos to Add Another Quarterback in Offseason

Broncos Quarterback Situation Remains Fluid

The Denver Broncos currently have three quarterbacks on their roster, but head coach Sean Payton left the door open for adding another during the offseason program. The status of starter Bo Nix remains uncertain following a second procedure on the broken ankle he suffered late in the team’s playoff win over the Bills.

Payton addressed the possibility during a Saturday press conference.

"That’s a great question. We’ll discuss that. It means look, we have 90 [roster spots], so it is possible you can bring someone back in on a trial basis for the minicamp. Yet generally with those practices, two [quarterbacks] is not a problem. It would be more of an issue if you felt a player was going to be a PUP in training camp, and that’s not going to be the case."

"I’m not saying we couldn’t sign an additional quarterback. We’ve discussed it, but really more in terms of, ‘Do we see something in these two guys?’"

E.J. Warner Emerges as a Standout

Payton highlighted the progress of backup quarterback E.J. Warner, who has drawn comparisons to former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel due to his physical profile and quick release.

"This [E.J.] Warner reminds me a lot of Chase Daniel. If you see his height, weight, size, speed, they’re very similar. He’s done a nice job. He’s done a very nice job and especially considering he’s coming off a weekend with different terminology, and he’s kind of yawned at it. It’s been real quick for him," Payton said.

Warner is the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, though Payton emphasized the differences between the two.

"He’s entirely different. He’s just really stood out with getting in and out of the huddle. He has a quick release and a good stroke. [He’s a] different type [of] player even. He’s probably more celebrated coming out of Fresno [State] than his dad was coming out of Northern Iowa."

Payton Highlights Changing Landscape of College Football

Payton also discussed the evolving dynamics of college football, particularly the increased mobility of players from smaller schools to Power Five programs due to NIL opportunities and the transfer portal.

"It’s funny in today’s college game, those players that came from Jackson State or Southern Illinois or those smaller schools end up playing at Auburn and Purdue. You don’t see those . . . . Occasionally [you do]. The true I-AA or smaller school players end up [in I-A]. We were having this discussion about HBCU schools. Walter Payton, does he finish at Jackson State or does he finish at Alabama. And Jerry Rice. It doesn’t have to be an HBCU school, it can be Eastern Illinois when I was back there on a campus visit and I asked them, ‘How are you guys handling that?’ Those schools are then looking at the other schools who are smaller than them to supplement their team."

"It’s a lot different than it used to be. When you look at however many draft picks there were and you looked at [Division I], that ratio is much higher now. They are filtering up."

Payton noted that the NIL era has accelerated this trend, allowing standout players from smaller programs to transfer to larger schools with greater financial incentives.

"That's a great point. And it's a byproduct of the NIL era. Between the availability of money and the ease of transferring, players who stand out at a small school will be gobbled up by a bigger school. Like E.J. Warner, who went from Temple to Rice to Fresno State."