Yeah, this was the only logical conclusion to this tale. The Denver Broncos have officially released Russell Wilson after just two miserable seasons to cement the Wilson trade as one of the worst EVER!
Let’s ride, Broncos Nation…on from Russ.
Despite giving up an arm and a leg…and a whole hell of a lot of money for Russell Wilson just two seasons ago, the Denver Broncos have officially released Russell Wilson after two seasons. And, like I said, this is going to go down as one of the Top-5 worst trades EVER in NFL history!
When the sun at long last explodes and the Milkey Way galaxy goes up in flames, we will look back right before the Earth melts away at the NFL annals and see that despite the ages that will have gone by with NFL trades, this Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos deal was still one of the worst in football history. That’s how bad this deal was.
So, for those who haven’t seen the news, the Denver Broncos at long last severed the cord on Russell Wilson’s contract with the team as they took on that monstrous, insane $85M dead cap hit for the upcoming season by cutting Wilson. Yes, Wilson is no longer the Denver Broncos starting quarterback…and it’s for the best.
Sure, Wilson didn’t have TOO BAD of a season last year as he threw for 3,070 yards, 26 TDs, just 8 interceptions, had a 3.3-1 TD-INT ratio, had a 66.4% completion percentage, a 98.0 QB rating, and he did all of this in just 15 games for he was unjustly benched in the final two outings for Denver.
But, on the other hand, Wilson did throw for a career-low in passing yards, he had his 2nd lowest QB rating since the 2015-16 season, he’s now coming off three straight seasons of under 30 TD passes since throwing for 40 and nearly winning MVP in 2020, and he’s now had three straight losing seasons (2021 with Seahawks, 2022 & 2023 with Broncos) as Denver finished 8-9 and Wilson personally went 7-8 as the starter.
Oh, and did I forget to mention that Wilson is set to earn approximately $40M PER SEASON for the next 5 years?!?!?
Or, at least, he WAS supposed to earn his monstrous contract extension this offseason if the Broncos didn’t cut Wilson and incur that dreadful $85M dead cap hit. Now, like I said, I really don’t think the way Wilson went out with Denver was a great reflection on the franchise, the Penner-Walton ownership group, or Sean Payton for if you sign someone to a contract (even if it is incredibly stupid), you should honor it and allow him to play if he is up for the task.
And, even though Wilson was not the MVP-caliber QB we saw during his final years in Seattle, he was the best quarterback on the Broncos roster last season and didn’t deserve to be benched for the final two games of the season.
Would Wilson have made a huge difference for the Broncos in those final two games? Probably not as he only threw for on average 200 or so yards/game and only eclipsed 300 yards twice (which happened in Weeks 2 & 3). Would Wilson have propelled the Broncos into the 7th and final Wild Card spot over the Steelers? Maybe? Possibly? But probably not.
And, lastly, would Wilson have led the Broncos to their first winning season since 2016? That I do believe for Denver was beaten by the Raiders on the last gameday of the season with Jared Stidham as their quarterback. Now, the Broncos are certainly not world-beaters, but if Wilson was the quarterback for that game, I think they end up 9-8 and 2nd in the AFC West.
Obviously, not a brilliant record, but at least they had a “winning” team.
So, all in all, this was a move that needed to be made as it not only gives both sides a fresh start for the upcoming season, but it also wraps up the legacy of one of the most disastrous, foolhardy, and boneheaded trades in the history of the NFL.
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