Insider Reveals New Timeline for Broncos' Big Russell Wilson Decision
The clock continues to tick for the Denver Broncos in the Russell Wilson saga as many around the league await to see how the team opts to handle their unruly quarterback situation. With the book all but closed on how we'll see this pairing fare this spring, all eyes are looking towards what the next steps will be in the inevitable divorce that will take place in the Mile High.
As of now, Wilson remains on the Broncos roster, but signs point to Denver eventually cutting the 9x Pro Bowler and effectively keeping a massive amount of dead cap on the books. As to when that day will come, though, has been mainly quiet.
However, we now may have a better sense of when we could see the wheels start turning for the future of both the Broncos and Wilson.
NFL insider Jeremy Fowler went on SportsCenter this Sunday to dive into what's happening in Denver. According to Fowler, "the feeling" around the league is Wilson would be willing to sign for a league minimum deal after the Broncos cut ties with him in the coming weeks:
"Everybody I've talked to around the league expects the Denver Broncos at some point around the new league year in the next few weeks to rip the band-aid off and release Russell Wilson even though they owe him $39 million in guaranteed money. But they can start new, he can go sign somewhere else. The feeling is he'll sign for considerably less, maybe even the league minimum, because he's got all that money in hand guaranteed. And so, he's going to have options. The feeling I get from talking to teams and scouts is that he's still an NFL starter, there will be a job somewhere for him."
The future of Wilson's NFL career remains pretty foggy, but the expectation seems to be that at least one of the 32 teams in the league would be willing to take a flier on him to lead their roster under center. It becomes even more likely if he's receptive to taking an extremely team-friendly contract.
Considering Wilson would still be in for a massive $39 million payday from the Broncos even after a cut, it makes sense that he wouldn't command a substantial amount of cash in his next deal to suit back up for another team. After all, it's unlikely that there is a team out there who would want to do so in the first place with the circumstances in place.
Wilson is coming off his second season with the Broncos, where he posted 3,070 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. While it was an improvement from 2022, Sean Payton ultimately decided to bench Russ for the final two games of the year, signaling the demise of his time in the orange and blue.
While it's difficult trying to project where Russ could end up to start the 2024 season just yet (or who will be the man for the Broncos), it seems that those highly-anticipated answers will come sooner rather than later.
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