Russell Wilson has confirmed speculation that the Broncos benched him because he refused to make significant adjustments to his contract. "They definitely told me I was going to be benched and all that. That whole bye week I didn't know what was going to be the case. I was going to be ready to play, I wanted to go to Buffalo and beat Buffalo. I wasn't going to remove the injury guarantee, this game is such a physical game, I've played 12 years and all that. And I want to be able to play, I want to be able to help this team win. Every time I step on the field it's a physical game. I never play timid; I never play scared," Wilson confirmed to reporters Friday.
Specifically, as Wilson alluded to, the Broncos had wanted the veteran QB to defer an injury guarantee to 2025. Under the current language of Wilson's contract, he would receive $37M in guaranteed money if he wasn't able to pass a physical in March 2024. Meanwhile, head coach Sean Payton, who cited the desire to trigger an "offensive spark" when benching Wilson, denied any knowledge of the contract dispute. "I'm not privy to any of those [discussions], I'm handling the football. I know how this has been written, but this decision is strictly what I believe gives us a chance to win No. 8. Hard decision [but there] will be no other reasons," Payton said.
Ex-NFL GM Calls Russell Wilson Trade "Worst Of All Time"
Elsewhere, former NFL GM Michael Lombardi has labeled Wilson's trade to the Broncos the "worst of all time". "When you add the contract and the trade, it's the worst of all time," Lombardi told TMZ this week. The Broncos gave up multiple first-round picks, multiple second-round picks, and three players to acquire Wilson. Furthermore, the team then gave Wilson a $245M contract extension.
However, Wilson was not the player that the Broncos thought they were trading for. Wilson struggled massively in 2022 and while he has improved in 2023, he has not turned the Broncos into a playoff contender. The team finished 5-12 in 2022 and while they have improved to 7-8 with two games remaining, their playoff chances sit at just 8% entering Week 17. In all likelihood, the Broncos will be missing the playoffs for the eighth consecutive year.
[via]