So, you’ve heard of New Year’s resolutions, right? It appears Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson is already making plans for 2023, hoping to live up to the enormous expectations set upon him since he arrived via trade.
For Wilson and the Broncos, next season has to be better. A last-place finish in the AFC West simply cannot happen again, not for this $230 million quarterback who also cost the Broncos the ninth pick last year and what currently projects to be the third pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
But it won’t be easy for Wilson, who recently turned 34, while he once again learns a new system under a new head coach heading into 2023. For now, Wilson can only control himself, yet the former Super Bowl-winning QB has a plan in place on how he expects to improve this offseason. It’s not his first rodeo, Broncos country.
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Russell Wilson heads into 2023 with a plan to start over
There’s no way to sugarcoat it. Russell Wilson has been bad this season. He’s on pace to finish with a career-worst 60.1% completion rate, which is only above Zach Wilson this season among starting quarterbacks, but even he lost his spot in the lineup. Just above Wilson is Derek Carr at 60.8%, who also recently got benched.
Wilson also has the lowest touchdown rate, lowest QB rating, and the lowest QBR of his 11-year career.
In all honesty, if the Broncos had the option to move on from Wilson this offseason, they probably would. Yet, the contract Denver signed him to prevents such a move.
- Russell Wilson contract: Incurs a $107 million penalty if cut before June 1, $82 million if traded
So Wilson has no choice, he has to make it work in Denver, or the criticism he’s facing now will follow him for the rest of his football life. Not exactly the way a nine-time Pro Bowl QB should be viewed, but that’s the ruthless world we live in.
It only makes sense for Wilson to, as Ian Rapoport mentions, change his entire preparation process, from the offseason routine to his pre-game work/planning, anything that delivers better on-field results.
As he responded when asked about the firing of coach Nathaniel Hackett, Wilson said, “I wish I could have played better for him.” By the sounds of it, he’ll receive every opportunity to do so, under new guidance in 2023.
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