The Denver Broncos dominated the AFC West with quarterback Peyton Manning, winning the division four years in a row and reaching two Super Bowls from 2012-2015.
Manning went 45-12 as a starter with the Broncos and retired from the NFL after winning Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season. Denver has been in quarterback purgatory since Manning’s retirement.
Among the team’s full-season starters since Manning, only one (Trevor Siemian) posted a winning record. Teddy Bridgewater went .500 and Brett Rypien went 2-1, but Rypien had a small sample size.
The Broncos thought they had found their answer at quarterback when they acquired Russell Wilson last year, but he did not seem to mesh with new coach Sean Payton in 2023. Payton benched Wilson this week and named Jarrett Stidham the team’s starter for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Stidham is now set to become Denver’s 13th starting quarterback since Manning. Here’s a quick look back at how we got to this point.
1
Trevor Siemian: 13-11
Denver’s most successful quarterback since Manning’s retirement (in terms of record), Siemian nearly reached the playoffs in his first season under center. He’s now a fill-in starter with the New York Jets.
2
Paxton Lynch: 1-3
One of the biggest busts in franchise history, Lynch went on to have unsuccessful stints in the CFL and USFL after falling out of the NFL in 2019. He now plays in the XFL.
3
Brock Osweiler: 0-4
Osweiler was an important player for the Broncos during their Super Bowl 50 run as he filled in well for an injured Manning during the 2015 season. Osweiler’s second stint with the team did not go well, though, and he retired from the NFL in 2019.
4
Case Keenum: 6-10
Keenum had an unremarkable one-year run with the Broncos in 2018. He’s now a backup with the Houston Texans.
5
Joe Flacco: 2-6
Flacco joined the Broncos in 2019 and he didn’t last long in Denver. He’s now a fill-in starter for the Cleveland Browns.
6
Brandon Allen: 1-2
Allen started three games in 2019 when Flacco was injured and Drew Lock was working his way back from an injury. Allen is now a backup with the San Francisco 49ers.
7
Jeff Driskel: 0-1
Driskel started one game when Lock was injured in 2020 and it didn’t go well. He’s now a backup with the Arizona Cardinals.
8
Brett Rypien: 2-1
Rypien started one game in the place of an injured Lock and two games in the place of an injured Russell Wilson. He is now a backup with the New York Jets.
9
Drew Lock: 8-13
Lock had moments of strong play in Denver, but his turnovers often proved to be costly. He was sent to Seattle as part of the Wilson trade and he’s now the Seahawks’ backup behind Geno Smith.
10
Kendall Hinton/Phillip Lindsay: 0-1
When all four of Denver’s quarterbacks were ruled ineligible to play in Week 12 of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 policy, wide receiver Kendall Hinton was called up from the practice squad to play quarterback that week. Technically, the Broncos had Lindsay line up in a Wild Cat formation for the first play, so Hinton was not officially credited with a QB start, but he was Denver’s QB that day.
Hinton and Lindsay are now both out of the NFL.
11
Teddy Bridgewater: 7-7
Bridgewater was one of Denver’s best quarterbacks since the Manning era, but it still wasn’t enough for the Broncos to get back into playoff contention. Currently a backup with the Detroit Lions, Bridgewater plans to retire after the 2023 season.
12
Russell Wilson: 11-19
Wilson started 15 games in each of his two seasons with the Broncos, going 4-11 in 2022 and 7-8 in 2023. Statistically, Wilson had a bounce-back year under Payton this season, but he has probably started his final game in Denver.
13
Jarrett Stidham: 0-0
Stidham went 0-2 as a starter with the Las Vegas Raiders last season, the only two starts of his NFL career so far. He’ll look to secure the first win of his career when the Broncos host the Chargers on Sunday.
