It appears that Russell Wilson will see his career with the Denver Broncos come to a conclusion after two mediocre seasons.
The Super Bowl-winning quarterback was benched late during the 2023 season despite the Broncos still being in the NFL Playoff race and Wilson putting up strong statistical numbers.
It was a whole thing around the NFL. Denver’s decision to bench Wilson was primarily about some of the money in his contract being guaranteed for injury only. The team did not want to risk an injury and have to pay it out. This led to an investigation by the NFLPA and some questions regarding the Broncos under head coach Sean Payton.
Fast forward several weeks, and it appears that Wilson’s tenure with the Broncos will soon come to an end. Jeff Legwold of ESPN reports that “almost no one in the league” expects the Broncos to retain Wilson this offseason.
Regardless of what the Broncos do, Wilson is now guaranteed a whopping $39 million for the 2024 season. Releasing him will create an NFL-record $85 million dead cap hit for Denver.
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Timeline for Denver Broncos to release Russell Wilson
With the NFL free agent tampering period set to begin on March 11, Wilson would likely prefer to be released sooner rather than later. This would enable him to get a head start on the free-agent courting process.
As for the Broncos, there is no real reason to hang on to Wilson until his $37 million salary for 2025 kicks in. Denver will be looking for a new QB1 this offseason. That could come via the NFL trade block, meaning figuring out their finances beforehand makes the most sense.
The likes of Justin Fields, Mac Jones and Zach Wilson are likely going to be available on the trade block. Remember, Denver does not have to wait until the new league year begins to agree in principle on a trade for a signal caller.
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Potential Russell Wilson landing spots in NFL free agency
By our estimation, there are several teams that will be in the market for a starting quarterback this offseason. That list includes the Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, Washington Commanders, Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons.
Any of these teams would likely be interested in Wilson as a stop-gap option given what he did earlier in his career and how he performed from a micro perspective in 2023.
- Russell Wilson stats (2023): 66.4% completion, 3,070 yards, 26 TD, 8 INT
Of those teams, Wilson has primarily been linked to the Raiders. They are set to release Jimmy Garoppolo at some point soon after benching him early in his first season with Vegas. New general manager Tom Telesco is expected to be active in adding a veteran quarterback to the mix.
The same thing could be said for the New England Patriots. Recent reports indicate that they are willing to move off the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and are looking to find a veteran signal caller. Wilson would make sense in this regard.
Wilson’s market is going to be interesting in that any team signing him would likely be on the hook for a veteran minimum deal given what the Broncos are set to pay him in 2024. That could increase the number of teams interested in the borderline future Hall of Famer.
In any event, expect something to be announced officially here soon. It makes no sense for Denver to let this process play out given that the writing is on the wall.