Foxboro Fit: Is Russell Wilson QB Solution For Patriots?
If you can't beat 'em ... join 'em?
On Christmas Eve the New England Patriots shocked and upset Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos. In a strange twist, might the quarterback that lost his job because of the Pats wind up in Foxboro next season?
Despite the 7-8 Broncos being mathematically alive for an AFC playoff berth, Denver coach Sean Payton this week announced that in the wake of the 26-23 loss to New England he was benching Wilson the final two games in favor of former Pats' draft pick Jarret Stidham. It's competitive decision, but also a financial one.
Wilson is owed a fully guaranteed $39 million in 2024, and the $37 million he’d make in 2025 locks in shortly after free agency begins in March. If Wilson doesn’t take another snap in Denver, the team can not only avoid an injury guarantee potentially activating, it can also preserve the possibility of trading a healthy player. The Broncos' "dead money" hit to the salary cap would be $85 million for cutting but only $68 million if a buyer steps forward to acquire Wilson in a trade.
Enter the Patriots?
Wilson is 35 and clearly in decline. His mobility and athleticism are no longer elite, his pocket accuracy is average and he's now gotten sideways with two future Hall-of-Fame coaches in Pete Carroll (Seattle) and Payton. Alas, he's also a nine-time Pro Bowler that has thrown for more than 43,000 yards and owns a Super Bowl ring.
New England will enter 2024 with about $75 million to spend under the salary cap, third-most in the league behind the Commanders and Titans.
He's better than any quarterback on the Patriots' roster, which isn't saying a lot given the play of Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe this season. But New England is also trending toward a Top 4 pick in next April's quarterback-rich NFL Draft.
Does Wilson in Foxboro make sense? USA Today listed the top eight potential landing spots for Russ in 2024, and the Patriots are among the candidates along with the Falcons, Raiders, Dolphins, Vikings, Steelers, Buccaneers and Commanders.
"Mac Jones, a first-rounder in 2021, doesn’t seem to be the answer," writes USA Today. "Bailey Zappe? Also unlikely. And HC Bill Belichick’s job status is a major unknown at the moment …
"Even while it appears he's busily trying to pilot the Pats out of a Top 5 pick in what projects to be a strong quarterback draft. All of which is to say … who knows? But this certainly looks like the tenuous kind of environment that could eventually at least afford Wilson the starting opportunity he’d doubtless seek if he winds up on the unemployment line."
