The Denver Broncos learned the hard way just how fragile quarterback depth can be. When Bo Nix went down with a late postseason injury, Denver’s offense suddenly had to adjust on the fly. Now, with Nix still rehabbing and trade speculation quietly circling veteran backup Jarrett Stidham, head coach Sean Payton appears determined to avoid a similar scramble heading into 2026 with a move that secured a familiar piece of their quarterback depth chart.

That stability matters more than it might seem. With the NFL now allowing teams to dress a third emergency quarterback on game day, most franchises prefer to keep at least three quarterbacks in the building who know the system. For Denver, reinforcing that depth has quietly become part of the offseason plan.

So, 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 Sean Payton has kept Sam Ehlinger around heading into the 2026 season. The quarterback originally joined the Denver Broncos on a one-year deal ahead of the 2025 campaign after spending four seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. He brought both NFL starting experience and a reputation as a dependable presence inside the quarterback room. Despite it all, Ehlinger’s path in Denver has been anything but straightforward.

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 Stidham after 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.

Part of the appeal is simply familiarity. By bringing him back, the Broncos retain a quarterback who already understands Payton’s terminology, practice routines, and weekly preparation process. That continuity matters in a system where even reserve quarterbacks are expected to help run scout-team offenses, assist with film breakdowns, and contribute to game-planning discussions throughout the week. Keeping someone who already knows the structure eliminates the learning curve that would come with adding a brand-new quarterback.

The decision to keep Ehlinger also reflects how much the Broncos value the culture inside their quarterback room. When Denver released him during roster cuts last year, he reportedly received opportunities elsewhere that could have placed him directly on an active roster. Instead, Ehlinger chose to return to Denver’s practice squad, a move that suggested he believed in the coaching staff, the offensive system, and the direction of the team under Payton. That kind of buy-in tends to matter to coaching staffs when they’re filling depth roles.

Apart from that, although the former Colts quarterback hasn’t had much opportunity to play recently, 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.

Those appearances represent the only NFL starts of Ehlinger’s career so far, but they remain an important part of his résumé. Even limited starting experience carries value for a depth quarterback. Many QB3 options around the league have never taken an NFL snap in a regular-season game, whereas Ehlinger has already been through the process of preparing for and starting multiple contests at the professional level.

His football background extends well beyond those three starts as well. Ehlinger built a strong reputation during his college career with the Texas Longhorns football program, where he emerged as one of the most productive quarterbacks in school history. He earned MVP honors in both the 2019 Sugar Bowl and the 2019 Alamo Bowl and was later named second-team All-Big 12 in 2020. At Texas, Ehlinger was widely viewed as a tone-setter in the locker room, a physically tough quarterback who embraced leadership responsibilities and played through contact as both a passer and runner.

That style has carried over to the NFL. At roughly 6-foot-1 and more than 220 pounds, Ehlinger has long been considered a durable, mobile quarterback capable of extending plays outside the pocket and contributing in short-yardage situations. Even if he rarely sees the field in Denver, that versatility makes him a useful practice and preparation piece for the offense.

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.

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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.