For the first time in his NFL career, Jarrett Stidham had an opportunity to be the No. 1 quarterback for a team this year. But when Denver kicks off its season against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 8, the former Auburn quarterback under center for the Broncos will be rookie Bo Nix.

The 12th pick the 2024 NFL Draft, Nix emerged from the competition with Stidham and Zach Wilson holding the starting job.

“First of all, obviously, I was very disappointed,” Stidham said. “I know I’m a starting quarterback in this league. I have zero doubts about that, and it just didn’t shake out my way. But I know what kind of player I am, what kind of person I am. And like I said earlier, I’ll be ready to go if I need to be. And, yeah, like I said, I have no doubts that I’m a starting-caliber quarterback in this league.”

But Stidham also pledged not to sulk about being the backup.

“I’ve always tried to be the best teammate that I could possibly be, no matter the circumstance,” Stidham said, “and so I’ll always do that.”

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In 16 NFL games, with four starts, Stidham has completed 117-of-197 passes for 1,422 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions and run for 97 yards on 32 carries.

Stidham joined the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. After beating out veteran Brian Hoyer, Stidham spent his rookie year as Tom Brady’s backup during the three-time NFL MVP’s final season with New England. Stidham played in three NFL regular-season games in 2019 and, after Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, five in 2020, when he backed up another former Auburn quarterback and NFL MVP, Cam Newton.

In 2021, Stidham never got in a game after sustaining an offseason back injury. Stidham had surgery on July 28, 2021, and spent the first nine weeks of the season on the reserve/physically-unable-to-perform list. New England went with first-round rookie Mac Jones as its starting quarterback with Hoyer as the backup.

Stidham joined the Raiders in May 2022, when Las Vegas sent a sixth-round choice in the 2023 NFL Draft to New England for the quarterback and a seventh-round pick. The trade reunited Stidham with Las Vegas coach Josh McDaniels, his offensive coordinator for three seasons with the Patriots.

Stidham made his first two NFL starts in the Raiders’ final two games of 2022 as Las Vegas prepared to part ways in the offseason with No. 1 QB Derek Carr.

Stidham also left the Raiders after the 2022 season by signing as a free agent with the Broncos to back up nine-time Pro Bowler Russell Wilson. By the end of the season, Denver was ready to part ways with Wilson, and Stidham again started the final two games.

The Broncos released Wilson in March, then traded with the New York Jets for Zach Wilson and drafted Nix. Zach Wilson was the second pick in the 2021 NFL Draft but has been replaced by Aaron Rodgers after making 33 starts in three seasons for the Jets.

The changes have left Stidham as the oldest quarterback in the room for the first time in his NFL career.

“I feel like I have a very unique experience playing behind some — in my opinion, the best quarterback to ever play,” Stidham said. “And seeing what that was like day in and day out, and then being behind some other really, really good players and coaches as well, so, yeah, I mean, obviously, I’m going to do whatever I can to help Bo get prepared. Obviously, he’s never had a real season like this in the NFL, so I’m going to help him in whatever way I can, and then also be ready to go if I need to be.”

During the Broncos’ three-game preseason schedule, Wilson played 104 snaps, Nix 59 and Stidham 44. Nix did not play in the preseason finale. Stidham led a 10-play touchdown drive to open Denver’s 38-12 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, then took a seat as Wilson ran the offense for the rest of the game.

During the preseason, Nix completed 23-of-30 passes for 205 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, Stidham completed 13-of-22 passes for 130 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions and Wilson completed 28-of-44 passes for 397 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Nix ran six times for 29 yards, Wilson ran five times for 21 yards and one touchdown and Stidham had a 9-yard touchdown run.

“I think they know what I can do,” Stidham said. “I think I displayed that last year whenever I was asked to come in and play the last two games, and then throughout practice, throughout training camp, OTAs, the whole thing. But at the end of the day, I’m going to go out there and do what I do. I’m very confident in what I can do, and do whatever I can to help this team.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.