It’s a one-year, $2 million deal with loyal No. 3 QB

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Sam Ehlinger had at least two chances to leave the Broncos last year for more promising playing opportunities with three other teams.

Each time, he stayed loyal to head coach Sean Payton and starting quarterback Bo Nix and remained with the Broncos.

Such loyalty was paid back Sunday night when the Broncos reached agreement with their No. 3 quarterback on a one-year, $2 million contract.

Ehlinger didn’t play during the regular season last year as he bounced between the Broncos’ practice squad and 53-man roster as the No. 3 QB behind Nix and top backup Jarrett  Stidham. Ehlinger did play during the preseason and was terrific in games against the Arizona Cardinals (14 of 16 passing, 162 yards) and New Orleans Saints (22 of 31, 198 yards). 


Those performance drew offers from the Washington Commanders and Detroit Lions as their No. 2/3 quarterback to  open the regular season, but Ehlinger chose to stay in Payton’s system. Later in the regular season, the Indianapolis Colts, where Ehlinger spent his first four NFL seasons after he was drafted out of Texas in the sixth round in 2021, tried to lure him back after their starting quarterback Daniel Jones went down with a season-ending injury.

But Ehlinger also knew Philip Rivers was coming out of retirement to play for the Colts and decided to stay put in Denver.

Along the way, Ehlinger heard pleas from Payton and Broncos’ general manager George Paton to stay put. It also didn’t hurt that Davis Webb was promoted from quarterbacks coach to  play-calling offensive coordinator for the 2026 season. Webb called the plays in the  Broncos’ preseason game against Arizona when Ehlinger performed nearly flawlessly.

So it’s no surprise the team reached a contract agreement with Ehlinger about 12 hours before he could start negotiating with other teams at 10 a.m. Monday.