Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos seem pretty intent on keeping their quarterback room stable after their deep postseason run. There are still a few moving parts, though. Bo Nix is rehabbing the injury that ended his postseason, and Jarrett Stidham has suddenly popped up in trade speculation. But one thing the franchise has already sorted out is its third quarterback.

On Monday, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that the Broncos have re-signed quarterback Sam Ehlinger to a one-year, $2 million deal. Ehlinger’s agent Erik Burkhardt of Roc Nation Sports negotiated the extension.

It’s easy to understand why Payton has kept Ehlinger on the roster ahead of the 2026 season. Ehlinger originally joined Denver on a one-year deal ahead of the 2025 season after spending four years with the Indianapolis Colts.

But his stint in Denver didn’t exactly follow a straight line. The Broncos released him on August 26, which briefly put him back on the market. According to reports at the time, Ehlinger received multiple active roster offers from at least two NFL teams. Still, the 27-year-old chose not to leave. Instead, he stayed in Denver. The decision paid off quickly.

The Broncos re-signed him to their practice squad and later elevated him to the active roster. Following that decision, Payton had already made it clear that the team valued having him around.

“Sam is a guy that we want back,” Payton said last year after bringing him back. “Now the league a few years back put in a rule that allowed you to dress a third [quarterback for games], but he had to be on your active roster. Every team in this league when the season starts is going to have three in the building. The question is just simply ‘What’s the third in the building? Is he active or practice squad?”

So while Ehlinger bounced around the roster a bit: released, re-signed, then promoted, he ultimately stuck with the team throughout the year. And even though he didn’t appear in a regular-season game in 2025, he still ended up dressing for a critical moment.

He was active for the AFC Championship, serving as the backup to Jarrett Stidham after Bo Nix suffered an ankle injury that ended his postseason.

Now fast-forward to the present, and Ehlinger’s new deal comes at an interesting time for the Broncos’ quarterback room. According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, multiple teams have recently contacted Denver about a potential trade for Stidham.

“As the QB market plays out, trade targets remain in play for several teams,” Russini wrote. “I’m told teams have reached out to the Broncos about backup Jarrett Stidham.”

Stidham has been in Payton’s offense since 2023, so whether the head coach is willing to move him is still an open question. What is clear, though, is that the Broncos have already secured one piece of their quarterback depth chart heading into 2026.

Ehlinger isn’t going anywhere.

The former Colts quarterback still hasn’t had much opportunity to play recently, but he does have some starting experience. Back in 2022 with Indianapolis, he started three games, completing 63.4% of his passes for 573 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. The Colts went 0-3 in those contests.

If Stidham ultimately remains on the roster, the situation becomes fairly straightforward. Ehlinger will likely compete for the backup role behind Nix, who continues to rehab the injury that effectively shut down the Broncos’ Super Bowl push.

Bo Nix’s injury is unlikely to affect his 2026 season

Bo Nix showed enough flashes in his rookie season to suggest he could eventually lead the Broncos. In year two, that potential turned into reality as he helped guide the team to a division title.

The second-year quarterback finished the regular season completing 388 of 612 passes for 3,931 yards, along with 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also contributed on the ground, adding 356 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns during the regular season.

Denver wrapped up the year with a 14–3 record. Nix carried that momentum straight into the postseason, leading the Broncos to the AFC Championship stage. But he wasn’t able to play in that game after suffering a broken ankle in the Divisional Round against the Buffalo Bills. The injury happened on the second-to-last play of Denver’s 33–30 win.

As a result, he missed the remainder of the postseason. The Broncos turned to Jarrett Stidham as the starter, but the team couldn’t get past the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.

Nix, meanwhile, had already undergone successful surgery following the injury and has since been focused on rehab ahead of his third season.

The injury certainly impacted Denver’s Super Bowl chances. Still, it’s not expected to carry over into the 2026 season or affect his offseason program. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Nix faces roughly a three-to-four month recovery timeline.

While there hasn’t been an official update on the exact stage of his rehab, the expectation around the league is that Nix will be ready to kick-start the Broncos’ 2026 campaign.