Jarrett Stidham will start another preseason game for the Denver Broncos, but just like the last time he got the first snap, a younger quarterback will play the main role in the game, and that is Zach Wilson.

Neither Stidham nor Wilson will be Denver’s starters in the first week of the regular season, as the Broncos announced that Bo Nix will be holding the reins. The rookie will not play in the final week of the preseason on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals as he rests and prepares for his NFL debut against the Seattle Seahawks.

Nix played a big role in the Broncos’ first preseason game after Stidham was named the starter and quickly bounced back. Nix won the job when he appeared and the following week when he started and shone against the Green Bay Packers. Wilson was a backup the whole time, but Payton plans to watch the former first-round pick from BYU on Denver’s secondary on Sunday.

So Stidham will make eight to twelve plays, after which Payton will hand the keys to Wilson.

“We’re going to have a lot to do with Zach,” Payton said Friday. “… it’s going to give him an opportunity to play in the second group. It’s hard to evaluate that position when the other elements aren’t working. I’m watching him practice and play throughout the week.”

So far this preseason, Wilson has completed 12 of 19 passes for 146 yards with one touchdown.

The team signed Wilson this offseason to add some movement toward the end of the 2024 draft, getting the former No. 3 pick for next to nothing, just before the actual event where the Broncos would take Nix. The new Wilson, like the Wilson who just left Dove Valley, is prone to sacks. Zach lost the most yards in the league to sacks in his rookie year, being held responsible for 113 yards in just 34 career games. Sure, he led five game-winning drives and is a former AFC Player of the Week, but the former Cougar has also thrown 25 interceptions to 23 touchdowns on just 57% passing in his career.

This is by no means Payton’s first regeneration prediction, he has had success with it in the NFL. He brought back the struggling Drew Brees and inducted him into the Hall of Fame and molded players like Teddy Bridgewater, Jameis Winston and Tony Romo into viable starters.

Payton said the Broncos would consider keeping all three quarterbacks if roster cuts are made in the next few days. The second-year head coach said the team already has a good idea of ​​the direction it will go before the third preseason game.

Sunday’s game between the Broncos and Cardinals starts at 1:30 p.m.