Russell Wilson Confirms Bombshell Report About Broncos Threatening Him
When it comes to the report that the Denver Broncos "threatened" to bench Russell Wilson if he didn't agree to remove the injury guarantees from his contract, the cat's so far out of the bag, you can barely make out a whisker at it turns the corner. Like a beleaguered outside linebacker, the Broncos have lost contain on this toxic story.
Jordan Schultz broke it on Wednesday, shortly after news of Wilson's demotion as the Broncos' starting quarterback hit the wire. The report claimed that Broncos GM George Paton contacted Wilson's camp during the team's Week 9 bye asking for the 12th-year pro to renegotiate the injury guarantees in his contract or else he'd be benched for the season.
We didn't get to hear from Wilson during what would be his traditional Wednesday press conference at Dove Valley because that slot is reserved for the team's QB1. On Friday, however, the Broncos allowed an open locker room to local press, and there was Wilson at his locker.
It didn't take long for the nine-time Pro Bowler to be asked about the incendiary report. Wilson confirmed it, claiming that the Broncos did, in fact, threaten him with his job if he didn't remove the injury guarantees, which, despite the five-game win streak the team would eventually go on with him under center, made it "tough" on him wondering when the shoe might drop because he wasn't willing to oblige the request.
“We beat the Chiefs. They came up to me during the bye week and began the bye week—Monday or Tuesday—and they told me that if I didn’t change my contract, my injury guarantee, that I’d be benched for the rest of the year," Wilson said via DNVR's Zac Stevens. "And, I don’t know, I think we had nine games left or so. I was definitely disappointed about it. It was a process through the whole week, the whole bye week. We just came off beating the Chiefs. Played a pretty good game against the Chiefs. We just came off of that, so I was excited, obviously, for us to fight for the playoffs and get on a hot streak. And the NFLPA and NFL got involved or whatever, I think, at some point."
Through ESPN's Josina Anderson, the Broncos "vehemently" denied that Paton threatened Wilson if he didn't play ball on the request to renegotiate the injury guarantees in his contract. A source acknowledged to Anderson that the Broncos did reach out to Wilson during the bye week, and when he declined to renegotiate, the team "dropped it," emphasizing that the quarterback went on to start the next seven games.
“They definitely told me I was going to be benched, and all that," Wilson reiterated. "That whole bye week, I didn’t know what was going to end up being the case. I was going to be ready to play. I wanted to go to Buffalo and beat Buffalo."
However, the sticking point was Wilson's unwillingness to remove the injury guarantees from his contract. The Broncos did go on a hot streak, beating some very good teams along the way, including the aforementioned Chiefs, Bills, Vikings, and Browns, so, ostensibly, it was expedient for the team brass to drop the issue, though it continued to weigh on Wilson.
Knowing how brutal and physically exacting it is playing quarterback in the NFL, Wilson explained how he couldn't bring himself to meet the Broncos' request.
"I wasn’t going to remove and take away [my] injury guarantees—take away injury guarantees," Wilson said. "This game is such a physical game. I’ve played 12 years and all that. It matters to me."
Wilson decided to bet on himself, so to speak, and err on the side of believing in his ability and that of the Broncos to continue winning games, which would, hopefully, make the team's threat a non-issue. But after things began to go sideways, punctuated by back-to-back primetime losses that the Broncos absolutely had to have to keep their playoff hopes alive, signs were exposed of how stressful the situation had become.
Payton's dog-cussing of Wilson on the sideline in Detroit was brushed under the rug after the Broncos lost to the Lions. But it's probable that his contract, combined with the frustrating lack of team results, at least in part, exacerbated emotions, leading to Payton's meltdown of sorts on national television.
Following Denver's Christmas Eve loss to the New England Patriots, Wilson was forced to address his future with the Broncos at the podium, and shortly after answering that question, abruptly ended his press conference, which was very aptyical of the veteran. It seems he saw the writing on the wall, and the question hit too close to home.
“Knowing I was already having a good season, I felt like, individually, but also about the team, ‘let’s go win, let’s go win,'" Wilson said on Friday. "That’s all I care about. Sitting at 1-5, [I] just kept believing. When we were in Chicago, and we were down, I told the guys, ‘We’re gonna keep winning, we’re gonna win these games, we’re gonna win these games,’ just speaking life into it. And then got to 3-5. [We] beat the Chiefs, which was a huge thing, obviously. We hadn’t beat them in eight years, or something like that. So to be able to do that, it was a team effort and everybody just doing a great job. That was an exciting time."
However, the realities of what the Broncos were asking of Wilson, and the implications thereof relative to his standing with the team, ate at him. It was a bittersweet period because the Broncos were winning games, but he was hurting.
"It definitely hurt," Wilson said. "It was a little blow, but at the same time, at the end of the day, I just want to keep my head down and try to do what I can do each play, each game, each moment… Beating Kansas City, then beating Buffalo… Minnesota, then Cleveland. Those are good teams, and we did it here. We fought, and we did everything we could. That was the fun part.”
For his part, when Payton took to the podium on Friday, he denied involvement in the decisions the Broncos' front office was making and the team's strategy relative to Wilson. If you want to believe that the head coach who was purportedly given final personnel say as a condition of taking the job in Denver had no input or say on the team threatening Wilson or even asking him to renegotiate his contract, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
“No, and I understand the question," Payton said on Friday. "It’s fair, and I totally get it. I’m not privy to any of those [discussions]. I’m handling the football. I know this. The No. 1 reason for taking this job for me was ownership and winning. Certainly, the tradition here mattered, relative to being at a place where it’s important, but that’s something George [Paton] and the front office—I’m not involved in any of that. Certainly, I am involved in a lot, but there will be a time and a place at the end of the season where some of the questions that you may have, someone else will be able to answer. My focus has been on winning, and I am going to go back to what I said at the beginning of the week. I know how this has been written, but this decision strictly is what I believe gives us a chance to win No. 8. It’s a hard decision, but for me, where I’m at in my career, that is all I am interested in—getting another win. There would be no other reasons."
Methinks thou protesteth too much.
Payton tried to reiterate multiple times on Wednesday that his decision to bench Wilson was motivated by football, not the "economics." He also observed that his job is to win games, and if he fails to deliver in that regard, how it's only a short matter of time before the Broncos fire him and seek out another head coach to get the job done.
However, considering that Payton is still in the midst of Year 1 and has already improved on the team's 2022 win total by two games, let alone making the Broncos competitively relevant in December for the first time since Gary Kubiak was head coach, he may be overstating the self-preservation issue. Payton is still in the honeymoon phase relative to his standing in Denver, and considering the obvious improvements the team has made under his stewardship, the Walton/Penner ownership group likely isn't even contemplating the coach's job security.
"I just know how [Owner and CEO] Greg [Penner], [Owner] Carrie [Walton Penner] and the ownership group want to handle," Payton said. "This is a place that’s special, and we only get to be here for a while. Our job is to make sure we carry that torch. The focus for me this week has been our team and I think sometimes that’s part of being the head coach. I’ll leave it at that.”
Wilson could have answered "no comment" when asked about the report of the Broncos threatening him. He didn't, and there are implications in that fact, one of which is that he's thrown all caution to the wind when it comes to pissing off the team brass, as it were.
However, whether you're inclined to believe it or not, Wilson remains adamant in his desire to remain a Bronco, but he, of course, wants to play — though he did admit that he couldn't answer whether or not he'll still be in Denver beyond this season.
“I don’t know to this day, to be honest with you," Wilson said of whether his future remains with the Broncos. "I want to be [here], but I don’t know. I didn’t know several weeks ago what that would look like either, but I want to—I came here for a reason, and that’s to win more championships. That’s still my focus to this day. I’m under contract, and I want to do whatever it takes, and that’s why I’m going to practice the right way, and do everything the right way, and try to do it the right way.”
Payton complimented Wilson for handling his demotion "like a professional." Wilson said he's doing everything he can to be helpful and supportive to Jarrett Stidham, who will start in his place this week.
Beyond that, only time will tell exactly how the Wilson story evolves. The move to bench Wilson was bold enough, but in the wake of the quarterback's accusations (which, again, the team has denied), it's only elevated the storyline from a P.R. perspective, creating an even greater potential for blow-back on Payton, Paton, and the Broncos front office.
Stay tuned because this is far from over.
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