DENVER, CO - DECEMBER 31: Head Coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos talks on the sidelines during the second quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at Empower Field at Mile High on December 31, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
Last week was a wild one in Broncos Country. After dropping three of their past four games, it was announced that starting quarterback Russell Wilson would be benched. Jarret Stidham was named the starter and Broncos fans were in a tizzy.
There are plenty of pros and cons on both sides of the argument.
Pro: Wilson has not looked like the player that he used to be, and doesn't seem to be a good fit with his head coach Sean Payton. This season, Wilson averages 20 for 30 for 205 yards with a 6.9 per pass average. He has thrown 26 touchdowns and turned it over nine times. The Broncos have gone just 11-19 with Wilson as their starter.
Con: Moving on from Wilson comes at an insanely high price. Word out of Dove Valley is that the Broncos wanted Wilson to rework his contract. When he refused, the decision was made to sit him down for the remainder of the year. Cutting Russ comes at a high price. The best outcome for Denver at this point is likely a post-June 1 release in the first few days of the 2024 league year. Wilson is owed a $17 million salary and has a $22 million option bonus in 2024. Denver can choose to exercise and spread that out over the salary cap or decline and take that full hit as a $39 million salary. That is HUGE money. That will put the Broncos at a disadvantage for a number of years.
Pro: On Sunday, Jarrett Stidham went 20 for 32 for 224 yards with a touchdown and no turnovers as the Broncos beat the Chargers 16-9. Stidham was hardly spectacular, but note how similar his stats were to Wilson's season averages. Stidham is getting paid just $5 million bucks, and he was missing both Courtland Sutton and Marvin Mims.
Con: That Russell Wilson contract is going to handicap the Broncos chances of signing another bonafide quarterback. Their best bet will be to draft a quarterback so that they could have him on a bargain deal for a few years. Is Stidham really the future? That seems very doubtful.
When the Denver Broncos brought Russell Wilson here, it was widely thought that he would be our next great franchise quarterback. The Broncos were his team.
It never happened. From the poor coaching, to the poor surrounding talent, to the poor play by Russ himself, there is plenty of blame to go around.
Moving on from that contract is going to be a massive challenge, but when the Broncos cut Wilson after the season, the buck will stop with one person.
This is Sean Payton's team now.
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