AFC Notes: Jarrett Stidham, Antonio Pierce, Broncos, Chargers, Raiders

Broncos

Peter King of NBC Sports believes the Broncos will roll with QB Jarrett Stidham in 2024 as the starter unless the last two weeks go poorly.

“Unless Jarrett Stidham absolutely stinks in the last two weeks, I believe the Broncos will enter 2024 with Jarrett Stidham as their quarterback and see what happens,” King said, via Broncos Wire. “They’ll bring somebody else in [to pair with him].”

Stidham understands he has an opportunity in Week 18 to boost his case for the job next season but added the Broncos also have a chance to earn their first winning record since 2016 and that means a lot to everyone. 

“Getting the ninth win for this team, it would be the first winning season since I don’t know how many seasons (2016). It’s a big deal,” Stidham said via Denver 7’s Troy Renck. “We want to end the season the right way. Look, I am not looking at it as an audition or anything like that. I have a certain job to do, a certain thing to do on each and every play. And ultimately, we have to go out there and win.”

• Renck cites a source who believes Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield would be open to the idea of playing for Broncos HC Sean Payton in 2024 if things don’t work out to keep him in Tampa Bay. Payton was reportedly a big fan of Mayfield as a prospect back in 2018. 
• However, Renck notes the financial side will be tricky, with Seahawks QB Geno Smith‘s $25 million per year deal a potential floor for Mayfield this offseason. That could be tricky for Denver to afford alongside a significant dead cap hit for Wilson. 
• If Payton is looking for a cheap reclamation project to compete with Stidham, Renck mentions 49ers QB Sam Darnold and Saints QB Jameis Winston could be options. 
• The Broncos could also look to the draft, although they’d likely need to trade up. If they wanted to go all the way up to No. 1 overall, Renck writes it could cost them CB Patrick Surtain II and multiple first-rounders. 

Chargers

• The Athletic’s Daniel Popper notes it’s possible the Chargers could cut all four of OLB Joey Bosa, OLB Khalil Mack, WR Keenan Allen and WR Mike Williams to fix their cap problems and hit the reset button under a new regime. 
• However, he adds they could choose to extend Allen, Williams and/or Mack to save money instead. The catch with that is it would mean committing additional money down the line to aging players in the case of Mack or Allen, and Williams is coming off a torn ACL. 
• Popper mentions it’s theoretically possible for the Chargers to move on from S Derwin James via trade or release this offseason. But he thinks James is talented and productive enough to be considered a building block for a new coach and GM. 

Raiders

Raiders DE Maxx Crosby made his case for the team removing the interim tag from HC Antonio Pierce and making him their permanent coach.

“There’s only 32 [NFL] head coaches in the whole world,” Crosby said, via PFT. “So you’ve got to find a leader of men. And when you’ve got one of them in the building currently, I don’t know why you would let them go.”

• Raiders P A.J. Cole earned a $100,000 incentive for being elected to the Pro Bowl, via Joel Corry.