Russell Wilson didn't speak to the media after getting benched by the Broncos, but the veteran quarterback did offer a short reaction to the move on social media.
After taking the day to digest the news, Wilson jumped on social media just after 11 p.m. ET on Wednesday to send out a simple, eight-word tweet.
God’s got me.
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) December 28, 2023
Looking forward to what’s next.
That sounds like a guy who knows that he won't ever be playing another down for the Broncos. The team's decision to bench Wilson almost certainly has everything to do with his contract. Wilson has an injury guarantee of $37 million for 2025 that would kick-in if he were to suffer any sort of injury over the final two weeks that would prevent him from passing a physical in March. That $37 million would also become guaranteed if Wilson was still on the roster at the start of the 2024 league year on March 17. The Broncos are already on the hook for $39 million in guarantees for the 2024 season and they clearly didn't want to add to that total.
The QB has a no-trade clause in his deal, which means this situation is almost certainly going to end with the QB getting cut after the season. Once they release him, the Broncos will have to take an $85 million dead cap hit. The small silver lining for the Broncos is if they designate Wilson as a post-June 1 release, they can divide that hit over the 2024 season ($35.4 million) and 2025 season ($49.6 million).
If the Broncos do end up cutting Wilson, their decision to trade for him AND give him a new contract will certainly go down as two of the worst personnel decisions in NFL history. To make the trade happen back in March 2022, the Broncos sent all of the following to Seattle: Noah Fant, Drew Lock, Shelby Harris, a 2022 first round pick (Charles Cross), a 2022 second round pick (Boye Mafe), a 2022 fifth round pick (Tyreke Smith), a 2023 first round pick (Devon Witherspoon) and a 2023 second round pick (Derick Hall).
They also gave Wilson an extension before he played a single down with the team, which is a decision that's going to end up being incredibly costly.
So presuming Russell Wilson is cut, his deal will have cost the Broncos $124 million for two years, when he was already under contract for those years at the time of the trade for $51 million (a $73 million raise).
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 27, 2023
Add that to all the picks that went to Seattle and ... Yikes.
If you're wondering what's next for Wilson, we took a look at a few possible landing spots and you can check those out here.
