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Jarrett Stidham and Bo Nix: Denver Broncos’ ‘orphan dogs’

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Jarrett Stidham and Bo Nix: Denver Broncos’ ‘orphan dogs’


The Denver Broncos traded five draft choices, including two first-rounders, and three players to obtain nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson in 2022.

Two years later, Wilson is practicing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Broncos are working through three quarterbacks to find their 2024 starter – Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson.

“It’s kind of the orphan group,” Denver coach Sean Payton said on Thursday. “They’re all orphan dogs. They come from somewhere. But they’re doing good. And it’s a good room.”

In order of acquisition, Stidham signed with the Broncos last offseason as an unrestricted free agent, Wilson came aboard in a trade with the New York Jets on April 22 and Nix joined as the 12th pick in the NFL Draft on April 25.

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“They come from different systems,” Payton said. “One’s coming from college, one’s coming from two or three NFL systems and the other’s coming from one system. They’re all in a race to learn this system. And I would say — you guys watched the practice — man, they’re doing well.”

A two-year starter at Auburn, Stidham is preparing for his sixth NFL season. His four starts came under similar circumstances. Stidham started the final two games of the 2022 season for Las Vegas as the Raiders prepared for their offseason release of No. 1 quarterback Derek Carr. He did the same thing for Denver in 2023. In his four starts, Stidham has passed for 1,080 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions.

After signing Russell Wilson to a five-year, $245 million contract, Denver had a 13-21 record in the past two seasons. The Broncos released the quarterback even though they still must pay him $39 million in 2024. But the release prevented Denver from also owing Wilson $37 million for 2025.

Zack Wilson started 33 games for the Jets after being the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He was supposed to be replaced by Aaron Rodgers last season. But when the four-time NFL MVP sustained a season-ending injury in the opening game, Wilson ended up starting 11 times in 2023.

New York posted a 12-21 record in Wilson’s starts, and he has 23 touchdown passes and 25 interceptions during his career.

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Alabama’s Mr. Football for the 2018 season at Pinson Valley High School, Nix started for three seasons at Auburn before transferring to Oregon. Nix finished third in the voting for the 2023 Heisman Trophy as he set an NCAA FBS single-season record by completing 77.45 percent of his passes and school single-season marks with 4,508 passing yards and 45 touchdown passes for Oregon.

TOM BRADY’S ADVICE FOR BO NIX

With 16,965 yards of total offense in his career, Nix ranks second in NCAA FBS history. He also ranks second with 152 total touchdowns (113 passing, 38 rushing and one receiving), sixth with 15,352 passing yards and seventh with 1,286 completions.

“We go by what we see,” Payton said of the quarterback competition. “We try to get them as many reps as possible. We’re rotating all of them right now, so Tuesday Stiddy ran with the ones and then Zach and then Bo, and we’ll keep doing that right now.”

Denver held its first three days of its Phase 3 practices last week. Commonly called OTAs (for Organized Team Activities), Phase 3 practices allow NFL teams to expand their offseason on-the-field work to include 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills matching the offense and defense. Contact is still not allowed, but group drills can proceed at more than a walkthrough pace now.

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Stidham took the first-team snaps on Tuesday, Wilson did so on Wednesday and Nix got his turn with the first team on Thursday.

Payton said not to draw a conclusion from that order.

“There’s going to be a time when you read into the reps,” Payton said. “I don’t think it’s early in OTAs.”

The Broncos have seven OTA practices remaining on their offseason schedule as well as a three-day mandatory minicamp June 11-13 before breaking for the summer.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

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





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Denver, CO

2 career prosecutors square off in Denver District Attorney race

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2 career prosecutors square off in Denver District Attorney race


One of the primary elections that may not be on your radar, but maybe should be, is the race for Denver District Attorney.

Even if you live outside the city, Denver has a large representation in the state legislature, so statewide criminal justice policy is often in response to what’s happening in Denver.

Leora Joseph, who worked as a prosecutor in Massachusettes for 25 years, served as chief of staff for the Colorado Attorney General’s Office and led Colorado’s Behavioral Health Agency, is facing off against John Walsh, former assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles and former U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado.

Beth McCann, Denver’s current DA, said last year that she won’t seek another term.

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Both have racked up endorsements from big-name Democrats. Joseph and Walsh agree on a lot, but where they split is on the issue of so-called safe injection sites — locations where drug users have access to clean needles and health services.

Proponents say the sites help reduce the spread of infectious diseases, help wean people off addictions and often have staff or volunteers on site who can address overdoses. Opponents say they encourage illegal drug use and make it easier for people with addictions to access drugs.

Both candidates have generally expressed opposition to the sites, but Walsh said he’d be open to a pilot program with one site if approved by the city council.

Sara Donegan, the mother of Carter Higdon, and her husband, Jim Donegan, join prosecutors and District Attorney George Brauchler as they discuss the 18-year sentence for Almeda Sullivan who gave Carter Higdon the drugs that killed him.
Sara Donegan, center, and her husband Jim leave the Arapahoe County Courthouse with prosecuting attorney Leora Joseph on May 1, 2015.

Kathryn Scott Osler/The Denver Post via Getty Images

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Political analysts Dick Wadhams, a Republican, and Mike Dino, a Democrat, joined CBS News Colorado political specialist Shaun Boyd to discuss the district attorney’s race in last week’s installment of Left, Right, Center.

Dino doesn’t think the race will hinge on the issue of safe injection sites but has more to do with representation.

“You’re right, I think they do agree on a lot of things or have a similar stance on issues,” he told Boyd. “I actually think we do have a woman DA, I do think Denver voters are bent on looking for getting more women into elected office in Denver and I think that would probably favor Leora Joseph.”

Wadhams says McCann’s endorsement of Walsh will likely weigh heavily in the race, but not as much as the candidates’ stances on issues such as the safe injection sites.

Metro Gang Task Force
John Walsh, U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado, talks during a press conference on June 25, 2015.

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Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images


“It wouldn’t be a very strong endorsement from my standpoint. But I think she’s held in high regard by Democrats in Denver. So I think probably does help,” he said. “But I’ll tell you what; I do agree with Joseph on the safe injection. I think she’s dead right about that. That would influence my vote if I were a Democrat and if I lived in Denver, which I don’t.”

As the lead prosecutor for whatever judicial district they serve, district attorneys are tasked with overseeing criminal prosecutions and are often blamed when crime goes up and credited with reductions in crime rates when they go down.

“We’ve seen the car thefts go down significantly in Denver, so that’s been good, and violent crime has also seen a reduction,” Dino said. “They haven’t really been running on, you know, being the toughest crimefighter. That’s not their style. And, again, safe injection sites. I do think, by and large, Denver voters aren’t against them.”

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Denver, CO

Denver police take barricaded suspect into custody after report of gunfire downtown

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Denver police take barricaded suspect into custody after report of gunfire downtown


DENVER — Police in Denver took a barricaded suspect into custody after a report of shots fired downtown led to street closures and a shelter-in-place order Monday afternoon.

Police said the suspect was arrested after officers deployed less-lethal equipment that sounded like gunfire.

The incident began after police received reports of gunfire in the 1700 block of Curtis Street around 11 a.m.

Officers arriving on scene closed off a one-block radius and issued a shelter-in-place for people in the area while they investigated.

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The suspect was apprehended about two hours later. It’s unclear what charges the suspect is facing.

There are no reports of injuries at this time.

Denver police said the shelter-in-place order and street closures will be lifted.


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Denver, CO

Denver lacks comprehensive approach to cybersecurity risks, city auditor says

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Denver lacks comprehensive approach to cybersecurity risks, city auditor says


Denver lacks a comprehensive program to assess potentially disastrous cybersecurity risks, City Auditor Tim O’Brien said in a new report.

The city’s current approach can best be described as “informal,” O’Brien said, particularly when it comes to oversight of independent city agencies or cultural facilities — like the Denver Art Museum and Denver Zoo — that operate on subnetworks tied into the city’s broader system.

O’Brien cataloged his office’s findings in an audit report released Thursday.

The report is the product of a review of city data, processes and planning efforts over two years — from Jan. 1, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2023.

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The audit team found that city staff did not consistently complete quarterly mandatory cybersecurity training. The city also lacks a specific training regime for employees responsible for citywide information technology risk management.

O’Brien is urging Denver Technology Services — the city department tasked with overseeing and managing all physical and virtual technology that touches the city’s network — to overhaul its approach and create clear guidelines for how every wing of city government handles data and technology risks.

“Through awareness of cybersecurity risks and clear expectation-setting for appropriate use of technology, the city can trust its employees to do their part in protecting data and information,” O’Brien said in a statement.

The auditor’s office recommended seven steps that Technology Services should take to remedy Denver’s shortcomings.

Those include:

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  • Developing a citywide risk assessment process
  • Developing risk management training
  • Creating information-exchange agreements that would require independent agencies and facilities to share information about high-level technology risks with the department

Sumana Nallapati, Denver’s chief information officer, accepted all seven recommendations in a response letter sent to the auditor’s office on June 7. Mayor Mike Johnston hired her in September.

Many facets of what O’Brien recommends are already underway, Nallapati wrote in her response letter.

“(Technology Services) intends to create a robust and holistic organizational risk management structure identifying roles, responsibilities, documentation, risk assumption, identification of training for necessary roles and escalation processes associated to technical risk,” Nallapati wrote in part.

Her letter acknowledged the administration’s limited power to influence independent city agencies. While Technology Services accepted the recommendation to pursue information exchange agreements, Nallapati wrote that her department plans to reach out to independent agencies to see whether they would be willing to sign memorandums of understanding — or MOUs — focused on risk assessment.

“(Technology Services) cannot commit to a completion date for any such efforts, or that a successful MOU will ever be reached,” she wrote.

The audit report cites officials with Denver County Court as specifically asserting that they have the legal authority to operate independently as the judicial branch of city government. Court officials argue that they should not be required to formally communicate potential cyber security risks to Technology Services, the report says.

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“But this assertion of independence with limited collaboration undermines the greater good of protecting the city from costly and damaging cyberattacks…” the audit team wrote.

Denver’s approach leaves the city more vulnerable to equipment failures, service disruptions and cyberattacks, the auditor’s office found. Those risk factors could cost Denver millions of dollars per day if any of them were ever to lead to full city network failure, according to the report.

In a statement to The Denver Post, Nallapati said her department is “committed to working across the city enterprise on continuous improvement of technology risk management strategies.”

Colorado has seen its share of high-profile cyberattacks in recent years.

In 2018, a ransomware attack temporarily knocked the Colorado Department of Transportation’s back-end operations offline. It cost the state between $1 million and $1.5 million just to bring the agency’s functionality back to 80% of normal in the months that followed.

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Earlier this year, a cyberattack hobbled the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender and delayed hundreds of court hearings. The agency acknowledged that personal data including clients’ Social Security numbers may have been compromised during that episode.

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