Rewind: Frank Clark Strongly Defends Russell Wilson Ahead of Chiefs SB
Last week, the Denver Broncos reunited two former Seattle teammates when veteran edge rusher Frank Clark was signed to a one-year deal. Although most Broncos fans knew Clark as a Kansas City Chiefs pass rusher and a two-time Super Bowl champion at that, he began his career with Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks back in 2015.
As a former second-round draft pick, Clark played out the entirety of his rookie contract with the Seahawks before the team placed the franchise tag on him entering the 2019 offseason. A month later, Clark was dealt to the Chiefs in exchange for some premium draft capital.
Those four years in Seattle, though, gave Clark a lot of history with Wilson. When the nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback landed in Denver in the spring of 2022, Clark suddenly found himself competing with his old teammate in the division.
We all know how 2022 shook out in the AFC West. Denver went 5-12 and fired its first-year head coach before the season was through, while the Chiefs won the division, and marched ahead to their third World Championship all-time.
Before Super Bowl LVII, Clark took to the podium for media day alongside all of his teammates. Former Broncos wide receiver turned podcast host Brandon Marshall got in a few good questions to Clark, one of which delved into the topic of Wilson's alarmingly bad first year in Denver and what Clark made of it as someone who knows the QB well.
"The toughest thing watching that is knowing how good Russell is. Knowing his leadership skills. Knowing what Russ can bring to the table," Clark said back in February. "But at the end of the day, football is football, and you've got to learn how to adapt to the circumstances. You've got to learn how to adapt to the new surroundings. We all have to learn how to do it."
Indeed, change is a constant in the NFL, and players do have to master it in order to keep their heads above water. However, Clark scoffed at the notion of Wilson so quickly plummeting from elite status to suddenly being 'washed up' in the course of a year.
"Going from being the best to hearing people say, 'Yeah, he's washed up.' How? How is he washed up? How soon can you forget about what a man has done in this league, last year, [or] the year before? But, I mean, we're in the league of 'what have you done lately' type of league," Clark said. "So I've been a victim of the media going, 'Damn, man. He hasn't done nothing. He ain't done nothing in a few games.' To where everybody's looking at Frank and everybody—the whole conversation is about Frank. When it's like, man, how soon can they forget what you've done for a team or what you've done to get to this point? But at the end of the day, we're in a 'what have you done for me lately' league."
Clark closed with how he views Wilson's outlook moving forward, and remember, this was said while he was still a Chief and on the doorstep of one of the biggest games in that franchise's history.
"So at the end of the day, I feel like for Russell—I know him," Clark said. "He's going to take it all in stride. He's going to take it all in stride, and I feel like he's going to come back a better player next year with a lot to prove."
Marshall then asked Clark if Wilson's Broncos would win the division next year, at which point, the veteran pass rusher inadvertently (or was it a Freudian slip?) said, "Win the division? Hopefully."
But it's your division! Taking his mortification in stride, Clark tried to smooth things over.
"Chiefs Kingdom. Chiefs Kingdom, baby. Ya'll know me," Clark said.
The Takeaway
What are Broncos fans to make of this relatively old news that's now suddenly relevant? If anything, it's that Clark, like many of Wilson's former teammates in Seattle, was surprised by the QB's regression last year, but still remained confident that he will turn it around.
If Clark didn't like Wilson's odds of turning the ship around, I doubt he would have accepted the one-year, $5.5 million deal (with a little room to earn some incentives), even at his soon-to-be 30 years of age. Aside from the allure of Sean Payton, we know one of the motivators behind Clark signing with Denver is his desire to help his once rival regain its competitive relevance.
“I also want to help the Broncos get back to the mountaintop," Clark told ESPN's Josina Anderson after signing last week.
Some might wonder whether Clark's vociferous defense of Wilson, and subsequent slip of the tongue, perhaps landed him in the Chiefs' doghouse, precipitating his exodus from Kansas City. I doubt it. But fans of both clubs will wonder.
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