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.