Denver Broncos getting rid of Russell Wilson and his bloated $245 million contract after yet another disappointing season with him as QB

The Denver Broncos have decided to move on from Russell Wilson and appoint Jarrett Stidham as the interim starting QB of the team.

Denver Broncos getting rid of Russell Wilson and his bloated $245 million contract after yet another disappointing season with him as QB

Russell Wilson's time in Denver is done.(via Sports Illustrated)

The Russell Wilson era has come to an inevitable end in Mile High City as the Denver Broncos‘ latest move to bench the quarterback for the rest of the season in order to avoid incurring a $37 million hit and the added burden of being unable to trade their QB if he suffers a major injury gave rise to the notion that the team was reluctant to hold on to him as a franchise QB for any longer.

Now, as per The Athletic’s Diana Russini, Russell Wilson is expected to be cut by the team by March 2024, as per league sources. The quarterback is expecting this to happen, which means his departure from Denver is almost guaranteed. 

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Russini further added that Wilson entered the 2023–24 NFL season with the knowledge that if this year did not work out for the organization, the team was “most likely going to move on” from him after the season.

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The Broncos had reached out to Wilson’s representatives in late October and given them an intimation that the quarterback risks losing his starting job and being made inactive for the rest of the season if he does not defer the $37 million injury guarantee that would be owed to him. 

The amount would become guaranteed on the 5th day of the 2024 league year in March.

Russell Wilson knew this was a do-or-die year for him from the start of the season

This means that the Broncos and Sean Payton had made up their minds to move on from Russell Wilson in late October. 

From that point forward, the team has just been attempting to get the most production it can from the quarterback without putting themselves in a position that can render them liable to pay his injury guarantee and remain stuck in a position wherein they cannot make him part of any trade deals.

Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson era comes to an end in Denver. (via theScore)

A look at the last few games between Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos says it all. The quarterback knew this was coming; he looked like a defeated man every time he stepped out on the field, hopelessly attempting to do his best for an organization that was no longer interested in what he had to bring to the table. 

Last year was concerning as, after signing Wilson to a $245 million extension with $164 million in guarantees, the Broncos, who were expected to be Super Bowl contenders, failed to reach the playoffs.

Wilson looked like an entirely different person in orange than he did back in Seattle. Nathaniel Hackett bore the majority of the blame for the Broncos season failure, alongside Russell Wilson. 

However, after hiring Sean Payton as the team’s new HC, this year was do or die for the quarterback, and while he did play significantly better than last year and was not the sole reason for the downfall of the Broncos’ season, he has clashed with Payton on numerous occasions.

It has been visible all season long when Sean Payton has been yelling at Wilson on the sidelines or the quarterback has expressed frustration towards his HC after a turnover that the duo has been unable to function well together.

The primary question remains: what team would be willing to step in and take over Russell Wilson’s massive contract after having witnessed his downfall in Denver over the last two seasons? This marks a sad and unfortunate end to one of the most hyped and poorly structured trades in recent NFL history.

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