Jarrett Stidham will start in Bo Nix’s spot at quarterback in the AFC Championship Game, but the Denver Broncos are adding some depth at the position.
Ben DiNucci has signed a deal to join the Broncos’ practice squad, he confirmed in a social media post on Sunday.
“It has come to my attention that a team may be in need of my services… Good thing my schedule is open this week,” DiNucci wrote. “Broncos country… Let’s go get a Super Bowl ?”
In the social media post, DiNucci included an image of himself when he was with the Broncos in 2023. But he hasn’t played a regular-season snap since he was a rookie with the Dallas Cowboys in 2020. He also hasn’t been on a roster since the Atlanta Falcons waived him during preliminary training camp cuts in August.
In fact, DiNucci was actually analyzing the impact of Nix’s season-ending ankle injury for the Broncos in a broadcast for CBS Sports on Saturday. DiNucci, 29, has also spent time in training camp or on a practice squad with the Buffalo Bills and New Orleans Saints since his last NFL start. On top of that, DiNucci spent a season with the Seattle Sea Dragons in the XFL.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton has iterated that Stidham will be under center for next Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots. It’ll mark Stidham’s first start since 2023. Sam Ehlinger is also slated to be Stidham’s primary backup after getting called up from the practice squad earlier in January.
In terms of what other options the Broncos could turn to at quarterback for the remainder of the playoffs, the list is slim. They can’t sign any quarterback who finished their season on an active roster. So, Philip Rivers won’t be able to make another legendary comeback, for instance. They also can’t add a quarterback who’s on an opposing team’s reserve/retired list, like Derek Carr. Carr is on the Saints’ reserve/retired list after announcing his retirement in March.
The only quarterbacks the Broncos can sign are players who ended the 2025 NFL regular season as a free agent. Drew Brees, for instance, could sign with the Broncos and reunite with his former Saints coach as no NFL team holds his contract rights.
But Payton has expressed confidence in Stidham ahead of the backup quarterback’s first playoff start.
“There’d be practices where I’m looking at [defensive coordinator] vance [Joseph] “Y me enojé porque Stiddy estaba haciendo que nuestra defensa quedara mal”, dijo Payton a los periodistas. “Fue muy preciso. Tiene mucho en sus pelotas”.
Stidham se enfrentará al equipo de los Patriots que lo seleccionó en la cuarta ronda de 2019. Draft de la NFL. Payton dijo que estuvo atento a la posibilidad de reclutar a Stidham mientras todavía estaba con los Saints.
“Sé exactamente cómo lo entrenaron en Nueva Inglaterra, y luego sé cómo [Patriots offensive coordinator Josh] McDaniels lo conoció cuando lo llevó de Nueva Inglaterra a Las Vegas. Y luego vi los informes de cómo jugaba y luego lo vimos jugar en tiempo real”, dijo Payton.
“Pero al final… son tres años que hemos estado aquí y tres años que lo hemos observado día tras día… Y así estará listo para partir y listo para este momento”.
La Prensa Asociada contribuyó a este informe.
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