Denver Broncos star quarterback Russell Wilson will more than likely be released here over the next few days. Speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday, Broncos head coach Sean Payton told reporters that a final resolution will come over the next two weeks.
Payton also seemed to conclude that Wilson’s time in Denver has come to an end after two so-so seasons.
“We better (find the solution at quarterback),” Payton said, via NFL.com. “The question was finding the solution at quarterback in this league, which is obviously very competitive within our division. I think it’s vital. I saw this humorous meme the other day where there’s a Broncos fan with a shirt on and there’s like eight quarterbacks names crossed through it and he’s drinking the quarterback Kool-Aid. Our job is to make sure that this next one doesn’t have a line through it.”
That’s pretty much speaking about Wilson’s tenure in the Mile High City in the past tense. As for a potential trade, Broncos general manager George Paton noted that there has not been any interest from other teams around the league.
“You know, I haven’t heard anything from any teams,” Paton said. “So, we’ll see.”
The 35-year-old Wilson is playing under a five-year, $242.59 million contract extension he signed with Denver ahead of the 2022 season. Any acquiring team would be on the hook for a base salary of $17 million in 2024 with that number increasing to $37 million in 2025. Hence, the lack of interest.
Related: Russell Wilson could make Denver Broncos’ life hard after release
Russell Wilson stats (2023): 66.4% completion, 3,070 yards, 26 TD, 8 INT, 98.0 QB rating
As you can see, Wilson is coming off a solid statistical season. At issue here is his perceived regression in terms of an overall skill-set and the aforementioned contract.
At this point, it’s reasonable to conclude Wilson will be released. It is no small financial thing for Denver in that said move would result in an $85 million dead cap hit for the 2024 season. If designated a post-June 1 cut, said hit would come in at $35.4 million with no cap savings.
Wilson has been linked to the likes of the Las Vegas Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers should he be released. He’ll certainly have a market in that scenario.
However, it’s pretty depressing that a Super Bowl-winning quarterback and borderline future Hall of Famer has no trade market.