It now appears that the Russell Wilson tenure with the Denver Broncos is coming to a conclusion after just two seasons.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton opted to bench Wilson after their loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday night. Given how well Wilson has played for the most part this season, the decision caught people around the NFL world by surprise.
With Denver still alive for a wild card spot in the AFC, the team is going to turn to Jarrett Stidham to start Week 17 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Stidham likely doesn’t give the Broncos a better chance to win than Wilson, leading to speculation that the decision to bench the Super Bowl-winning quarterback was solely financially motivated.
We now have some confirmation on that end.
According to Jordan Schultz of Bleachee Report, Denver threatened to bench Wilson weeks ago if he did not remove the injury guarantees on his contract. Per the report, the Broncos approached Wilson two days after their Oct. 29 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
“At that time, Wilson was coming off a 3-touchdown game in the win over the Chiefs and was starting to experience the type of success he envisioned following a challenging first year in Denver. The threat however, ‘shocked him,’ and the two sides got into a major dispute on how to proceed.”
Report on Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos
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Russell Wilson contract, and why he was benched
Wilson is playing under a five-year, $242.6 million contract extension he signed with Denver after the team acquired him in a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Seahawks ahead of the 2022 season.
Said contract comes with $37 million in injury guarantees for the 2025 season. It is set to bcome guaranteed on the fifth day of the new league year in March. If Wilson can’t pass a physical, the guarantees set in. Hence, why he was ultimately benched.
Regardless, Payton attempted to push back against that narrative in talking with reporters on Wednesday.
“We’re desperately trying to win. Sure, in our game today, there are economics and other things,” Payton said. “But the number one thing is to get a spark offensively.”
- Russell Wilson stats (2023): 66% completion, 3,070 yards, 26 TD, 8 INT, 98.0 QB rating
Despite his otherwise stellar stats, Wilson is leading a Broncos offense that ranks 16th in the league in scoring at 21.8 points per game.
As for Stidham, the former New England Patriots fourth-round pick has started all of two games since entering the league back in 2019. That came as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders back in 2022. The Auburn product has thrown six touchdowns against seven interceptions in 14 career appearances.