Russell Wilson reportedly expects to be a free agent in the 2024 offseason following his benching by the Broncos. According to reports from Bleacher Report and ESPN, Wilson fully expects to be cut because he refused to defer his injury guarantee to 2025. Wilson’s weighty contract includes an injury protection clause if he is unable to pass a physical in March 2024. However, Wilson was reportedly asked to defer that guarantee to 2025 and refused. According to Dianna Russini of ESPN, the threat of benching was leveled at Wilson earlier in the season because of this. At the time of writing, Jarrett Stidham will start the last two games of the Broncos’ season.
However, head coach Sean Payton denied that financial flexibility was playing any part in Wilson’s benching. “I understand all the speculation and everything that surrounds a move like that. I can tell you — look, we’re desperately trying to win. Sure, in our game today there are economics and all those other things. But the No. 1 push behind this — and it’s a decision I’m making — is to get a spark offensively,” Payton told reporters Wednesday.
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Broncos Face A Financial Headache With Russell Wilson
In short, the Broncos owe Wilson a lot of money, and benching him potentially saves them having to pay out even more money. However, the team can’t simply just cut the veteran. There is a lot of guaranteed money baked into Wilson’s contract that the Broncos will owe him either way. If they do cut Wilson, they will also be hit with $85M in dead money. That would greatly impact the options that would be available to Payton and the team in replacing Wilson.
However, it’s clear that Wilson isn’t the answer that the Broncos were hoping he would be. While his play has declined somewhat, he is not a terrible quarterback by any means. Despite this, the bigger problem is that the Broncos have not been able to put together a team with consistent chemistry. The answer might be to reset completely and use their projected 13th-overall pick to draft the best available quarterback. That is currently projected to be Michigan’s JJ McCarthy or Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. Meanwhile, Wilson will likely be able to find a team like Atlanta, New York (Giants), or New England looking for a veteran QB. However, this is a story that is likely going to play out for the coming months.
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