The Broncos made a potentially franchise-altering move on Wednesday by benching Russell Wilson. Given his struggles in Denver across the past two seasons and the nature of his contract, it is widely believed his time with the team has come to an end. 
In the wake of the news regarding Wilson’s demotion, Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz reported the Broncos first threatened to bench Wilson after their upset win over the Chiefs on October 29. The reason for that action, both then and with today’s move of making it official, he notes, was tied to the timing of Wilson’s 2025 injury guarantee. If on the roster on the fifth day of the 2024 league year, Wilson’s mega-pact would trigger $37MM in 2025 money.
Schultz adds the Broncos asked the former Super Bowl winner to delay the time at which that clause kicked in. Further reports (including from Denver7’s Troy Renck) have corroborated that, with the latter noting the Broncos intended to have Wilson compete for the starting role this offseason without having a guarantee in place for the following year. To no surprise, the 35-year-old did not acquiesce to that plan.
During the time after Denver’s attempt to remove the 2025 guarantees, the NFL, NFLPA and an “unknown party” took part in negotiations over the matter, per Schultz and Mark Maske of the Washington Post. In the end, no adjustments were made to Wilson’s contract, leaving the Broncos in a unenviable financial position. With a substantial dead cap charge looming, the team is positioned to release him and begin another search process for a long-term answer under center.
When addressing the matter publicly, head coach Sean Payton admitted that “economics” were a factor in the decision to essentially put a firm end to the Wilson era in the Mile High City. Since he will dress as the backup this week, though, the possibility remains the longtime Seahawk could be thrust back into action and thus put himself at risk for injury. Still alive for the playoffs, Denver’s middling offense will rely on Jarrett Stidham at the QB spot to finish the season.
Following that, Payton (whose relationship with Wilson has been the source of plenty of speculation during the year) will likely be heavily involved in the search process for a new quarterback. That, coupled with Wilson’s first career foray into free agency – presuming the team follows through with his release – will be among the league’s top 2024 offseason storylines.
It’s crazy they’re going to do this with playoff potential still existing.
It’s like under a 2% chance lol
When they asked him this, it wasn’t. This was right after they beat the Chiefs and were in the driver’s seat for the wildcard spot. So this coming out and then the ensuing losing streak will be interesting to see how it plays in the locker room. Definitely sounds like something you bring up after the season, not in the midst of a winning streak.
If I were a FA, I would be wary of signing a deal with the Broncos that had such a clause.
It seems like Denver never agreed to that clause in good faith.
If he would have performed better, it would not have come to this. It’s on him
I don’t think injuries actually care how a player is performing when they decide to strike. The Broncos accepted the injury guarantee clause knowing Wilson was an aging QB so they put themselves on the hook.
I don’t watch a lot of Broncos games but statistically Wilson has had a very good year. They should roll the dice the last 2 games with him if for no other reason then for the fact that it makes the franchise look awful and deters any other QB from wanting to sign there. Plus, they have no good alternative except to be bad for a long time while they look for his replacement.
We had to spend an entire offseason listening to Mass. holes talk about how Stidham was going to be the next Brady.
Might not have fully understood what they had.
In either case.
Absolutely no one thought that lol
Peruse the archives here. Mass holes as far as the eye could see spewing that cultist nonsense.
And then…after months of that talk…BB signed a washed up Cam Newton instead over the next Brady.
It was hilarious.
They could always trade Stidham and a first rounder to Seattle for Geno Smith
There must be a serious divide between Wilson and Payton. From the outside, I don’t see a clear path for the Broncos to replace Wilson with a long-term answer next season. That being said, from a financial standpoint, it would be better to stay with Wilson for another season even if they know he isn’t the long term answer. Unless they have a solid plan to acquire a clear upgrade, the money says stay with Russ.
Russell Wilson isn’t the reason they’re 7-8. Not even close.
His stats are actually pretty decent. Payton is the reason
His stats are almost identical to Teddy 2 gloves, who had less games and 8 fewer turnovers.
I’d love to see Wilson go win a SB with Bill in New England next year
I’d love to see BB remain in NE and trade his entire draft class for Wilson, then pay his contract. That would be awesome for the rest of the AFC
he can sign Wilson for like 10 mil
Are you his agent? LOL
What team brain trust gave up so much to bring in Wilson…then hand him a ginormous contract?
The same one who hired Nathaniel Hackett.
Which trade is worse? Wilson or Watson?
At least Wilson’s been available.
RW is a jerk, but not a creep (as far as we know).
Wilson. Watson will still have chance to possibly recoup some value. It sounds like Wilson’s run is over in Denver.
Gotta still say Watson is way worse. Broncos gave up two 1sts, two 2nds, and some other OK assets. Then they signed Wilson to a contract that they can walk away from and save some money. Plus, Wilson has been good this year, so they’ve gotten some on-the-field value from him.
Watson was three 1sts along with a fully-guaranteed contract that they can’t recoup any money on. And he’s been horrible and not even available.
Broncos can cut bait, take some cap hits over the next few years, and move on. Browns are stuck for the next three years (dead cap hits of $200 million, $137 million, and $73 million). And that’s not even mentioning the public damage done by acquiring a serial abuser of women.
That’s all fair.
add to that Bakers been solid and , at worst, Browns could’ve drafted Stroud etc of things fell apart under Baker
How could the Browns have drafted Stroud? They never had the top 2 picks
“if things fell apart with Baker “
They did fall apart under Baker. He was the 26th rated quarterback in 2021 and yet Cleveland had the 15th pick. Last year with a backup Brissett and a very rusty Watson, Cleveland still was in the 13th draft order. Cleveland’s roster with Chubb was never going to allow them to get a top 2 pick
Anyone else see Wilson and the falcons?
They have the weapons, but not sure they may want an old man that can be a bit of a control freak. They will also be getting a new HC, they maybe more likely to go after Fields or trade up.
People have to get this fantasy of Fields out of their head as anyone’s solution at QB. He has a .288 winning percentage in the NFL. Anyone hitching their wagon to that deserves what they get.
Yeah because football isn’t a team sport with 2 different units…
Peyton Manning couldn’t win on the Bear teams that have been trotted out there.
But CJ Stroud is winning with a worse team than the Bears. Why is thay?
Worse than the Bears? That’s totally debatable. But more importantly, the Houston coaching staff IS better.
Yep, worse than the Bears. Houston has no name WRs, a D minded rookie HC, OL injuries all season, and a roster off a ton of losses last year. They have all the excuses for Stroud to fail, but he hasn’t. JF is finally turning into an just an average NFL QB after 3 seasons. He still hasn’t adjusted to having 2.5 seconds to make a decision in the NFL, to having 5 seconds in college. Flacco is playing better than him.
Houston actually invested a ton to support their young qb
They went out and got Robert Woods and Dalton Schultz. They drafted Tank Dell who’s been the 3rd best rookie receiver behind flowers and nacua. They traded for Shaq Mason to anchor the oline. Drafted oline pieces. Locked up their tackles and brought in veteran depth. Devin Singletary was also a wise investment.
They also brought in Slowik as OC who’s installed a good offense for Stroud.
Bears brought in a streaky #1 in Moore and aren’t running an offense that fits fields. They also haven’t really done much to improve the oline situation at key areas and wr room has been shaky for years.
Fields to Atlanta I think is a low cost change of scenery risk Atlanta should take given they have London Pitts Robinson Allegier. They could stand to add more we depth but they have pieces.
Robert Woods? Rookie Tank Dell? When you say “running an offense that doesn’t fit Fields”? What kind of offense do you mean? Getsy run a west coast O , which is simple to run. I wouldn’t trust Fields with anything more complicated as he probably can’t handle it
How do you know? I think Fields is making the coaching staff look bad. How many times do you have to change staffs? The players make the coaches. Look at Belichick. Look at Payton. Look at Zac Taylor.
If you watch Fields he hasn’t adjusted to the speed of the NFL game and still makes bad throws. After 3 seasons, if you haven’t figured it out, all the coaching in the world won’t help. Fields should be watching Lamar this year to see how he should be playing.
The Bears better than the Texans? That’s not debatable, the Texans are way better. Chicago is currently a garbage dump. Houston is young, and only going to get better, and have far better coaching staff.
Exactly. If Fields were any good he’d elevate the Bears. All good quarterbacks do that. It’s not supposed to be the other way around. Look at Trubisky, he failed somewhat in Chicago and he’s been worse since he left.
Fields had Matt Nagy as his first coach. That guy is managing to screw up KC pretty bad. The defense eventually had Desai who is screwing up the Eagles defense. There is only so much someone can elevate…especially with those two running things.
Fields’s defenses in his three years in the league by Points Allowed per game: 22nd, 32nd (ie, dead last), and 21st. He’s also had horrible OL play and horrible coaching (Nagy and Eberfluss; we’ve all seen KC’s offense take a huge step back with Nagy and Eberfluss is just clueless). Also what weapons has he had? David Montgomery averaged less than 4.0 yards per carry while they shared a backfield and his first two years, his only receiving weapon was Cole Kmet.
Not saying Fields is going to be great, but he hasn’t had any help.
He’s bad. Quit making excuses for him. I guess you think Sam Darnold, Trubisky, Zac Wilson, Pickett, and other 1st round picks will be good if they can just keep changing coaches until they find one
I didn’t say anything about any of those dudes. Fields has a much higher ceiling than any of them. Also, you didn’t address any of my points.
Again, not saying he will be great, but the Bears have done him no favors with a bad defense, bad coaching, and no weapons.
Again, how do you know its horrible coaching and not horrible quarterback play that’s making the coaches look bad? Fields has been the common denominator with the 2 coaches. How many different coaches do you think Fields should get before you move on? According to you, it’s always going to be the coaches
To address your points: the “bad coaching” thing doesn’t work. He’s been in the league 3 years and still gets confused in the pocket. He’s improved a bit lately, but no coaching can fix that. Nagy won a SB last year as OC, what’s your point? Same applies to the D. Their D is much better this year, but that has nothing to do with taking sacks, inaccuracy, and turning the ball over. They have no weapons? They are a top running team and have a very good #1 WR and a decent 2 and 3, plus a good TE. The OL is fine. He’s ranked #22 on espn and that’s about right. He shouldn’t get outplayed by Flacco, Minshew, or Stroud.
link to espn.com
Zack Wilson has shown flashes of having a higher ceiling than Fields. Fields hasn’t done anything, as a passer, that gives me any confidence in him.
Sounds like you want the Bears to draft Drake Maye
The first team that popped in my head. Think his wife is from there too. It would make it awkward bumping into Future in the city though.
real football fan better be into XFL/USFL too or else you’re just a casual
Commanders?
I say that too but a new head coach might change all of that.
No more dead ender, end of career QB’s please to the Redskins/Commies. Donovan McNabb, Alex Smith, Case Keenum, Carson Wentz (and Alex Smith was very good in his very long prime). The list is long on these expensive experiments. No thank you.
Not to mention RG3 and Rex Grossman.
New England
what am I missing here? he has 26 TD passes against 8 interceptions. I’ve never thought much of Wilson even when he was with Seattle and sure didn’t understand why Denver traded for him and gave up so much. I didn’t even understand why they gave him that ridiculous contract. I’m a Broncos fan but living in Dallas I don’t see many Broncos games. Is it all his fault or is it just a whole team issue of people underperforming? If you just look at his stats you’d think he’s having a good season.
I think it’s a case of expectations vs reality. Everyone thinks Wilson is the same play making mobile QB from 8 years ago. He was in SEA with a great D and strong running game. But after his injury, he hasn’t been the same. DEN doesn’t have the D and RBs that SEA did, plus he’s aging and less mobile. He looks like a game managing QB today and not worth the salary cap hit for a new HC, who wants to build the franchise with his players.
Don’t forget the 10 fumbles this season. 1 being a scoop and score on what could have been a game winning drive against the Jets.
This is a perfect example of why you have to watch the games, not just look at stats. Russ has been extremely limited, and they’ve just put a system around him to minimize his faults. Think Jimmy G the last few years with the 49ers – the system is “working” to the extent it is in spite of Russ, not because of him.
“Given his struggles in Denver across the past two seasons and the nature of his contract, it is widely believed his time with the team has come to an end.”
What am I missing here? He hasn’t struggled this year
Have you not watched the games? He’s struggled the majority of the season and just has one good quarter here and there. Our winning streak was because of the defense, not rus, don’t get it mixed up. He stagnates the game for 3 plus quarters every game. He doesn’t process defenses or WR routes quickly and often scrambles out in clean pockets into a sack. He’s had multiple open receivers over the middle of the field he’s too scared to throw to, and makes every defense see his predictable tendencies of either short routes to the rb or the occasional deep ball to Sutton. No intermediate game. Everyone who doesn’t even watch games keeps wanting to talk about these bloated stats. But here’s a reality check, he has more games played than Teddy 2 gloves, with almost identical stats and 8 more turnovers. Is Teddy Bridgewater worth $250 mil? He also ranks 21/30 qualifying QBs in QBR. He ranks 19/30 in total EPA. He ranks 17/31 in both Adj.
EPA/play and EPA/play. He ranks 20/31 in success Tate. People need to understand he’s not even close to a mid tiered qb anymore, he’s old, and is extremely limited.
Oops, so they want to return the product for a refund but haven’t their receipt. Walmart product returns can be a troublesome.
Well, if they don’t want to change the name on the back of the jersey, there’s one they could have out of New York for a day 3 pick. LOL
Why wouldn’t they just let Russ cook?
Russ tried. He really did. Also Payton is a golf ball cheeked jerk. I say Russ signs a one year deal with patriots as they rebuild. It makes sense to me
Patriots have played the aging diva card recently with zero success. Cam Newton was a similar situation (but much cheaper). I don’t think Russ Wilson is a good fit in Bill Belichick’s world.
They did it once with a post prime injury-history Cam Newton for one year. They had a Super Bowl winning franchise QB for 2 decades. Look me in the eyes and tell me one year of Russ isn’t an improvement over Mac & Cheese Noddle Arm Jones
With all that dead money and no pics you might as well ride Wilson for the next two years.
It says a lot that Jeudy was on social media “liking” the change to Stidham.
Russell Wilson has been overrated since like 2 years before wanting out of Seattle. Denver being desperate for a new star QB I didn’t know it would be a failure but I had a feeling it would be. Especially where they were at when they made the trade and what they gave up. Many people here said the same thing. Two guys come to mind to replace him in Denver next year and that’s Jamesis Winston and Bo Nix. I see a lot of similarities between Brees and Nix.
Wilson isn’t good now, but neither is Payton. Overrated arrogant blowhard barely lifting a finger to cash the paycheck his reputation got him.
At least they have the Nuggets? I dunno.
Broncos owners: can you work with Wilson as your QB?
Payton: sure, bring it on
7 months later (still in playoff contention): let’s blow it all up
“I don’t dance now, I make money moves …”
Wilson is 35yrs old, his window as a top QB is closing rather fast. No way Denver was going to guarantee his 2025 contract, especially on an injury clause. But thinking outside the box wasn’t Payton intrigued with the Cardinals HC position cause of Kyler Murray but could not come to agreement with Cardinal management on salary before he took the Denver job. Could it be that Payton will look into acquiring a QB like Murray, I could see the Cardinals looking at more draft pieces for their rebuild, just wondering what the Cardinals would ask for Murray.
These contracts are strangling clubs
Watson, Wilson, Von Miller all are killing the teams ability to succeed
Cleveland has the 3rd best record in the AFC. I’d say that’s successful
so weird that the broncos traded for a washed up diva, gave him a new megadeal, and now he’s horrible? who could have seen this happening???
Sean Peyton is the most over rated coach in NFL history. Road drew Brees coattails for years . Good luck Russell and congratulations on getting away from the worst and most over rated coach in NFL history.
Sean Payton was leading the Saints at the time of bountygate. He successfully shifted blame to Gregg Williams but this year has had a defense with a drawer full of unnecessary roughness and targetting penalties, including suspensions. Payton seems to be just a nasty guy.
Alec you are correct sir. Payton destroyed the franchise. Gutted it.
That’s a weird interpretation for someone who won the only championship in the team’s history. They were trash before he got there, and they’re trash now that he’s gone…but the guy who won it all for them destroyed it?
Super Bowls, as far as I can remember:
Wilson: 2
Payton: 1
The Broncos are in the playoff hunt and Wilson is having a resurgent year. They’re bailing.
This is the exact type of situation a commissioner should be watching over. However, Goodell being a patsy in the owners’ pockets means nothing will happen.