Kurt Warner’s phone recently dinged with a text from Andy Reid. It was a photo of Kurt’s son, E.J., in the throes of it at Kansas City’s rookie minicamp last weekend, photographed next to the Chiefs’ legendary head coach.
It struck the elder Warner that Reid — a former Packers assistant — was at his own tryout in Green Bay in 1994. Nearly three decades ago. And nearly three decades later, here he was again, one of the many arbiters deciding the future of a Warner quarterback in the NFL.
“I’m like, ‘Man, I can probably find that exact picture, whatever, 25 years ago, 30 years ago, of you standing behind me as I was trying to get my shot,'” Kurt told The Denver Post, recalling his response to Reid.
E.J. Warner did not inherit his father’s height. The Fresno State product is 5-foot-11; Kurt Warner, the former Rams and Cardinals Hall of Fame quarterback, is 6-foot-2. But he has inherited his story, down to the letter. Kurt once went undrafted in 1994, got a tryout with the Packers, and stocked grocery shelves while waiting for his next opportunity. E.J. has gone undrafted in 2026, had a tryout last weekend with the Chiefs, and will now travel to Denver this weekend to throw in front of head coach Sean Payton at the Broncos’ rookie minicamp.
“For me, it took me a long time after Green Bay to find another opportunity, to get that opportunity – but I always believed that if I got a true opportunity, I would succeed,” Kurt said. “And he believes that exact thing, right now. So, thatap what we’re chasing, thatap what he’s chasing.”
Payton and the Broncos, now, will get a long look at the son of NFL royalty at a tryout at Denver’s rookie minicamp this weekend, which runs Friday through Sunday. Denver did plenty of homework on sleeper-type quarterbacks through the draft cycle, but didn’t end up drafting a late-round prospect or signing any undrafted QBs. E.J., as presently constructed, will be the only young arm who’ll throw for the Broncos at their rookie camp.
That was appealing to the Warners, as Denver’s AFC West-rival Chiefs got a look at E.J. last weekend – but gave the lion’s share of the reps to seventh-round draft pick Garrett Nussmeier, as Kurt told The Post.
“He’s extremely excited about coming to Denver, with what he understands now,” Kurt said. “Thinking, ‘Hey, sure looks like I’ll get a great shot to get a bunch of reps and show myself.'”
In the exact middle of The Post’s conversation with Kurt, though, news broke that the Broncos had invited a veteran into the fray: 32-year-old Nathan Peterman, who’s bounced around the NFL since Buffalo drafted him in the fifth round in 2017. Peterman has spent parts of six NFL seasons with the Bills, Raiders, Bears, Saints, and, most recently, a practice-squad deal with the Falcons in 2024.
Peterman is best known for throwing five interceptions in the first half of his first NFL start as a rookie in 2017, and holds a career 39.4 passer rating across 160 NFL pass attempts and five total starts.
The Broncos don’t exactly need another veteran body in their quarterback room, though, with 29-year-old Jarrett Stidham and 27-year-old Sam Ehlinger still under contract as backups to Bo Nix. It’s likely, then, that E.J. will have ample opportunity to throw to Denver’s receivers at rookie minicamp — a mix of drafted tight ends like Justin Joly and Dallen Bentley, and undrafted wide receiver signees like Nebraska’s Dane Key and TCU’s Joseph Manjack IV.
The younger Warner’s collegiate profile is a complete mixed bag, with highs (a Mountain West-leading 69.3% completion rate in 2025) and lows (leading his conference in interceptions in each of his four college seasons). Across two years at Temple and one-year stints at Rice and Fresno State, E.J. threw for 10,844 yards, with 71 passing touchdowns against 48 interceptions.
He had middling athletic scores in pre-draft testing. His strength, Kurt said, is in his processing speed.
“From an intelligence standpoint, I’d put him up against anybody coming out at his position,” Kurt told The Post. “And thatap where he’s going to excel.”
That played a direct role in E.J.’s particular interest in trying out for Denver, Kurt said, seeing a head coach in Payton who’d once partnered with an undersized yet hyper-intelligent Hall of Fame quarterback in Drew Brees.
“I think Sean Payton would never be like, ‘Oh, this guy’s too small to play,'” Kurt said.
The Broncos are comfortable with their current QB room, around Nix. Cutting or trading Stidham would save Denver a good chunk in cap room, but Payton has said multiple times previously he views the backup as an NFL-level starter — despite an uninspiring performance in January’s AFC Championship loss to New England. Ehlinger, too, turned down opportunities elsewhere throughout last season to stay as the Broncos’ No. 3 and develop under new play-caller Davis Webb.
Without a truly standout weekend, it’d be difficult to see the Broncos inviting the younger Warner back for training camp. But like his father before him, he’s simply looking for a shot.
