Just as the Los Angeles Rams have seemingly given up hope on their season, now the Denver Broncos appear to be done trying to promote Russell Wilson as the face of their franchise.
It’s been less than nine months since the Broncos decided to trade two firsts, two seconds, a fifth-round pick, Drew Lock, Noah Fant, and Shelby Harris for Wilson, who was viewed as a franchise savior. Wilson was supposed to make Denver an instant Super Bowl contender, being that he was widely viewed as one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks.
Yet, we haven’t seen any evidence of Wilson resuming the stellar play we saw under coach Pete Carroll with the Seattle Seahawks now that he’s operating the Nathaniel Hackett offense in Denver.
Instead, the Broncos lead the least-productive scoring offense in the NFL through 12 Weeks, scoring just 14.3 points per game.
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At 3-8, the vibes in Denver are at an all-time low, but they still have six more games to play, including a matchup on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.
In most situations, your franchise QB would be a player that teams would try and promote and paste everywhere ahead of the organization’s next matchup, hyping up the fanbase. Only, the Broncos have abandoned all hope and seemingly realize hiding Wilson would be best right now.
The latest evidence comes via their promotional materials, where the Broncos decided against featuring Wilson. Many may wonder, well, who did they choose instead? The answer will surprise you.
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Denver Broncos choose Alex Singleton over Russell Wilson
There isn’t really a way to dress this up. Feeling like they should avoid a potential public relations nightmare by pitting the Ravens vs. Broncos matchup as a Lamar Jackson vs. Russell Wilson duel, they instead chose a linebacker who many common NFL fans wouldn’t even recognize.
Starting linebacker Alex Singleton, who is in his first season with the team, is who we see featured in Denver’s Week 13 preview promo, spurning Wilson instead.
Singleton has recorded a team-leading 90 tackles while playing in 11 games, starting seven in 2022. He also has three pass deflections and five tackles for loss.
- Russell Wilson stats in 2022: 58.9 comp rate (31st in NFL), 2,369 passing yards (17th), 8 TD (28th), 5 INT
While Singleton is in the midst of what may be a career year, he’s not exactly a household name or a player anyone inside Broncos Country will get pumped up to see. Yet, seeing Wilson’s face might make them upset, considering how different reality has turned out in comparison to their expectations. In hindsight, this was probably a good call, even if it’s noteworthy.
For what it’s worth, the Broncos signed Wilson to a five-year, $242 million contract at the start of the football year, meaning they’re likely stuck with the QB, who they no longer seem to view as the face of the franchise.
