There arguably has never been a better time to be a backup quarterback in the NFL.
Since the start of the decade, teams have averaged close to two different starting quarterbacks per season, thanks to injuries and, perhaps, the expanded schedule.
Somehow, Jarrett Stidham didn’t often reap the benefits of all that turnover. Stidham has made only four regular-season starts in seven seasons, and each of his two brief stints as a starter came under the same circumstances: The quarterback ahead of him on the depth chart was benched not necessarily for performance, but to prevent injury.
The opportunity Stidham waited seven years to see arrived when Bo Nix suffered a fractured ankle in a divisional-round win over the Buffalo Bills, devastating Denver Broncos fans but giving the career backup a chance to finally prove himself on a massive stage.
Here’s a closer look at Stidham’s career and where he started out in the NFL.
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Jarrett Stidham career timeline
New England Patriots (2019-21)
Stidham declared for the NFL Draft after his 2018 campaign at Auburn, but he slipped to Day 3. The New England Patriots selected Stidham with the No. 133 pick of the 2019 draft, adding him to a quarterback room headlined by none other than Tom Brady.
Stidham threw only four passes as a rookie, but he was initially in line to start when Brady left the Patriots in free agency following the season. Bill Belichick insisted throughout the offseason that he was content with who the team already had in its quarterback room, and Stidham looked like the best bet to start in 2020. That dream ended when Belichick relented and signed Cam Newton in late June, relegating Stidham to a backup role.
Stidham only saw relief action in 2020 and didn't play at all in 2021 after the Patriots drafted Mac Jones, so he ended his tenure in Foxborough without starting a game.
Las Vegas Raiders (2022)
After Jones' emergence in New England, the Patriots traded Stidham to the Las Vegas Raiders for a late-round pick in the spring of 2022.
Stidham arrived in Las Vegas with Derek Carr the team's clear starter, so he entered into a competition with Nick Mullens to be Carr's backup and won. Stidham assumed the No. 2 role when Mullens was traded to the Minnesota Vikings during training camp, and Stidham remained in that role until late December, when the Raiders shut down Carr to preserve his health in order to trade or release him in the offseason.
Stidham started the final two games of the season for the Raiders, losing both but giving the 49ers a real scare with a 34-point performance in Week 17.
MORE: Can Broncos win the Super Bowl without Bo Nix?
Denver Broncos (2023-present)
Stidham hit free agency for the first time in his career after the 2022 season and signed a two-year, $10 million deal with the Denver Broncos to be Russell Wilson's backup.
Wilson started the first 15 games of the season and bounced back decently from an ugly first campaign in Denver, but Sean Payton and the Broncos' brain trust was set on moving on from the veteran in the offseason and shut him down with two games remaining just as the Raiders did with Carr a year earlier. Stidham replaced Wilson for the final two games, winning one and losing one.
While Stidham looked like he might be in line to start after Wilson's release in 2024, his position because tenuous the moment the Broncos drafted Nix, and Nix ultimately won the starting job as a rookie. Stidham hasn't thrown a pass since the final game of the 2023 season, as Nix never missed any time until his ankle injury in the playoffs.
MORE: Inside Sean Payton's playoff record as head coach
Jarrett Stidham career stats
| Season | Team | Starts | Record | Comp. Rate | Yards | TD | INT |
| 2019 | Patriots | 0 | 0-0 | 50.0% | 14 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020 | Patriots | 0 | 0-0 | 50.0% | 256 | 2 | 3 |
| 2021 | Patriots | 0 | 0-0 | — | — | — | — |
| 2022 | Raiders | 2 | 0-2 | 63.9% | 656 | 4 | 3 |
| 2023 | Broncos | 2 | 1-1 | 60.6% | 496 | 2 | 1 |
| 2024 | Broncos | 0 | 0-0 | — | — | — | |
| 2025 | Broncos | 0 | 0-0 | — | — | — | — |
| Career | 4 | 1-3 | 59.4% | 1,422 | 8 | 8 |
Stidham has thrown for eight touchdowns and eight interceptions in his career, but he was more efficient in his four starts between the Raiders and Broncos than he was in his limited relief action with the Patriots at the start of his career.
Despite middling career stats, the Broncos believe Stidham is well prepared to take over the offense in Nix's absence.