Quarterback · Denver Broncos

Sam Ehlinger

No. 4 · 6th season

A sixth-round quarterback with something left to prove is now competing in Denver

There is a particular kind of NFL career that never quite gets its moment — not a bust, not a star, just someone waiting on the right situation. Sam Ehlinger has been living in that space for a few years now.

Ehlinger came out of Texas with a reputation as a fighter. He was taken in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts — late enough that nobody expects anything from you, which can be freeing. He got into eight games, made three starts, and showed flashes. Not enough to lock down a job, but enough that the story didn't have to end there.

Now he is in Denver, competing for the backup quarterback spot behind a starter who gets most of the attention. That is, genuinely, a real opportunity. A backup job in the NFL is a livelihood, a platform, and for quarterbacks with Ehlinger's profile, it is sometimes the doorway to something more.

Sixth-round picks who stick around long enough to compete for roster spots in their second city are not common. Whatever he makes of this chance, he has already done something harder than it sounds.

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