Shannon Sharpe Sounds Off on Broncos’ Fallout With Russell Wilson
The Denver Broncos made headlines around the NFL on Monday afternoon when they finally opted to make their big decision of releasing 9x Pro Bowl QB Russell Wilson after being on the roster for two seasons. Following a turbulent and ugly fit between the signal caller and Sean Payton plagued this team across 2023, it ultimately led to these two parting ways to begin the new league year.
Shannon Sharpe voiced his thoughts on the situation on Tuesday's First Take on ESPN, calling the fit between Wilson and Sean Payton a "match made in hell":
"What we thought was going to be a marriage made in heaven, because the Broncos had a nice, talented group of receivers, Russ could throw the ball extremely well; it turned out to be a match made in hell. For me, personally, I thought Russ came with the wrong attitude. I think he wanted things that he never got in Seattle. Concessions that the Broncos made early on, because they hadn't had a quarterback of this caliber since Peyton Manning left... I just don't think he ingratiated himself with the team that much.
The Broncos finished their first season under Sean Payton with an 8-9 regular record, missing the postseason for the eighth straight season. While it was an improvement from Denver's 2022 campaign, the team still suffered from consistent problems on the offensive end, with Wilson never seeming to click with his new head coach.
Sharpe discussed what he thinks led to the fit between Payton and Wilson never getting on the right track, crediting the disconnect to Coach Payton's unwillingness to give his quarterback a fair opportunity at redemption from his previously unsightly season under Nathaniel Hackett.
[Sean Payton] never, ever, gave Russ a second chance to win him over. He came in with this ideology, he's like, 'how could you?' This is not team building. Players do not separate themselves from others, and it rubbed him the wrong way. With all of that being said, we have to stop this notion that Russell Wilson played well. Russell Wilson did not play well, and for the amount of money that he got, $124 million, a lot of stats that he piled came in losing efforts."
Wilson finished his second season playing 15 games in the orange and blue with totals of 3,070 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, and eight interceptions on a 66.4% completion rate. His ability as a game manager and sustained success in the league will likely keep him around as a starting quarterback on one of the 32 teams in the NFL, but it's been made clear that won't be in Denver.
While the Broncos will incur a historic $85 million hit in dead cap for cutting Wilson before his extension even kicked in on the books, Sharpe believes it was still the correct decision to take the hit rather than throw in another attempt to salvage this fractured relationship.
"If it's over, and you're ready to move on, separate ways. There's not enough money to keep you in a situation in which you're unhappy. I think Russ needs this, and the Broncos need this. But, Russ didn't live up to his obligation, and I think the Broncos organization failed Russ in the beginning by hiring [Nathaniel Hackett] that had no business being a head coach or his offensive coordinator."
Now with the ties finally cut on both ends, Wilson can now seek out a better situation to join the third team of his NFL career, while Sean Payton and the Broncos are now tasked with finding there next chance at a franchise quarterback to lead this offense.
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