Insider Dishes Update on Russell Wilson’s NFL Future Post-Broncos
The gears are continuing to turn on the ending of the Russell Wilson saga with the Denver Broncos. With head coach Sean Payton noting that a decision would be made on the roster's quarterback situation in the next two weeks, the writing is on the wall of a departure with the 9x Pro Bowler before the NFL offseason starts getting fully in motion.
However, it leads us to ask the question of what might be next for Wilson once he and the Broncos cut ties later this month.
In a segment on ESPN's Get Up!, NFL insider Field Yates touched a bit on the future of Russell Wilson in the league, detailing some key information surrounding his current situation:
"I would be stunned, to be clear, if Russell Wilson were not on an NFL roster this upcoming season. I would say this, a couple weeks from now, after the first wave of free agency has run it's course, we might have a much better view of what Russell Wilson's future looks like... I think Russ remains one of the best 32 quarterbacks in the NFL, clearly, and will be a starter. It just may be he has an option that is not viewed right now as that team's preferred choice. I don't know that Russell Wilson is 'target A' for any team at this very moment"
With the motions of the NFL offseason still stuck in it's early stages, it's hard to have any clear idea of where Wilson, or any other quarterback on the market, will end up until some pieces start moving around the board.
Some solid signal callers are available to be acquired in free agency like Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield, along with guys that can be secured via trade, like Justin Fields, so it's likely to see those options be decided upon first before interest begins to generate around Wilson. Each of those players either had a better season last year and/or increased optimism to move forward with, so any franchise in the hunt to get a new QB would probably want to take a shot on them before the focus gets shifted to a lower-tier option like Russ.
There was some speculation revolving around whether Wilson could manage to find a roster spot going into the 2024 season, but it seems those discussions have started to lose some steam. Even without having the most stellar two seasons in the orange and blue, the league is too quarterback-needy to let a former Pro Bowl and Super Bowl-winning quarterback rot without a chance to compete for a starting job.
Wilson closed out his season with the Broncos on a 7-8 regular season record with a final stat line of 3,070 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, and eight picks. As Yates notes, it would be a surprise to see his services not utilized by a team next season, but projecting who that franchise is may remain foggy until free agency rolls around.
Follow Mile High Huddle on Twitter and Facebook.
Subscribe to Mile High Huddle on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!
