Russell Wilson ‘Fighting for His Broncos Job’ After Seahawks Trade
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A contractual goodbye to Russell Wilson should he flop again this season for the Denver Broncos franchise? As a practical financial matter, that so-called "exit strategy'' would, as we detail here, be a challenge.
A change in being committed to the quarterback who looked so awful in 2022 after having been selected to nine Pro Bowls during his great career with the Seattle Seahawks?
That move is one new Denver coach Sean Payton could conceivably pull off. And in that sense, maybe it is not too dramatic to suggest that as he is entering Year 2 with the Broncos, Wilson, 34, is playing with his career as a starter on the line.
"Russell Wilson isn’t fighting for his legacy - he’s fighting for his job,” former NFL GM Mike Tannenbaum said on ESPN’s Get Up. They will draft his replacement if he doesn’t do everything he (Payton) says from Day 1.”
Note the difference between this previous reports that have played so loosely with how, exactly, Denver could extract itself from having given Wilson a five-year, $245 million contract extension following his blockbuster trade from the Seahawks.
This isn’t about “cutting” Wilson; this is about a concern that he might repeat 2022, when he posted the worst season of his career, completing 60.5 percent of his passes for 3524 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
In this particular scenario, Wilson would again underperform. The Broncos would wish to bench him at their earliest convenience. Denver would then “draft his replacement,” making for the most capital-invested QB room in the NFL.
The only good news here for Denver (short of the possibility that Payton "fixes'' Wilson)? At least in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Broncos will finally once again own a first-round pick.
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