On Saturday, the Denver Broncos managed to defeat the Buffalo Bills, 33-30, in a controversial overtime outcome. Though the Broncos advanced to the AFC Conference Championship, they suffered a big loss, with quarterback Bo Nix fracturing his ankle. He’ll be out for the rest of the playoffs.
That means backup QB Jarrett Stidham will be called in to action for the first start of his NFL postseason career. If he can win, Stidham will join Frank Reich as the only quarterback whose first start of the season came in the playoffs and won.
Yet, putting the entire season in the hands of a 29-year-old QB who’s only ever made four starts and enters next weekend’s matchup with a 59.2% completion rate is extremely risky. Is it possible the Broncos try to find another QB before the game? The Indianapolis Colts managed to pull Philip Rivers out of retirement, and he started later that week.
Now, former All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman has a suggestion for how the Broncos may be able to replace Nix with a more proven option. Sherman believes the Broncos should try to give Tom Brady a call, even if he’s retired and working as a FOX analyst.
“Who can Sean Payton Call to play QB with only a week before the Broncos play in the AFC championship game? One call he could try to make that may break the internet is Brady. Doubt he would do it but boy would that make for great TV!”
Richard Sherman on Broncos QB situation
Of course, since Brady operates as a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, NFL rules prevent him from playing for a team. He’d have to give up his ownership stake first.
Thus, expecting Brady to come out of retirement and play in an offense he’s never learned before is extremely unlikely. In Rivers’ case, he was stepping into an offense he had already previously mastered under coach Shane Steichen.
As bright and capable as Brady is, he’s never worked with Sean Payton before, so the learning curve would be much longer. In other words, don’t hold your breath, Broncos fans.
Related: Tom Brady Reveals What It Would Take To Return Like Philip Rivers
