Broncos Country, let’s ride… out of the Mile High City.
Russell Wilson is no longer a Denver Bronco. The writing’s been on the wall for a while. This was inevitable. Now it’s official, as the team released a statement to confirm Wilson is gone.
Sources: The #Broncos are moving on from QB Russell Wilson, closing a tough chapter for the team and allowing coach Sean Payton and Wilson to start fresh.
Wilson is available for a team needing a starter. Denver avoids an extra $37M fully guaranteed now. pic.twitter.com/6rBis2Cw1w
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 4, 2024
We’ve notified QB Russell Wilson that he will be released after the league year begins March 13.
A statement from GM George Paton and HC Sean Payton: pic.twitter.com/EJO5mNMjew
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) March 4, 2024
The veteran quarterback posted his own farewell to Denver, too:
Once one of the most electrifying players in the sport, Wilson became a shell of himself during Nathaniel Hackett’s failed tenure, and quickly wore out his new coach, Sean Payton. The Broncos executed a historic trade and gave Wilson a historic contract just to get him to Denver. To say the Broncos’ blockbuster acquisition backfired is putting it in far too delicate of terms. Full-blown disaster.
Largest dead cap hits in NFL history:
Russell Wilson ($85M)
Matt Ryan ($40.53M)
Aaron Rodgers ($40.31M)
Carson Wentz ($33.8M)
Russell Wilson, again ($26M)To call this historic is an understatement. https://t.co/BeQztvGEin
— Anand Nanduri (@NanduriNFL) March 4, 2024
It's mind-blowing that Russell Wilson is getting cut the second his $245m extension kicks in.
Whatever about the trade, that's one of the worst contracts that's ever been done in NFL history.
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) March 4, 2024
Broncos gave Seahawks:
2022 1st
2022 2nd
2022 5th
2023 1st
2023 2nd
Drew Lock
Noah Fant
Shelby Harrisfor Russell Wilson and a 4th
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) March 4, 2024
With all that dead money arises an opportunity, though. Wilson may not be viewed as a top-tier starting QB anymore, yet teams in need of a serviceable veteran under center could do far worse than him. That’s mainly because he can sign anywhere for a little over $1 million and suddenly be the biggest bargain-bin signal-caller in the sport. It’s not like Mr. Unlimited played terribly in Denver during the 2023 campaign, either. Wilson registered a 98.0 passer rating, completed over 66% of his throws, and had a 26-8 TD-INT ratio.
It’ll never make sense to me if the Pittsburgh Steelers don’t jump all over this and sign Wilson. They have an excellent defense, and Arthur Smith is their new offensive coordinator. He’s obsessed with running the ball. All Wilson would need to do in that situation is be a game manager. With Kenny Pickett as his only prospective competition among Steelers QBs currently under contract, that looks like the cleanest path to a starting gig and playoff football. Wilson has made it known that he wants to win two Super Bowls in five years. That’s not remotely realistic anywhere but Pittsburgh among the suitors who ought to be interested in his services.
PS: Yours truly was right again.
I forget who it was, but somebody called Russell Wilson being released with a post-June 1 designation before the start of the 2024 league year…in December 2022. When the widely perceived "out" in his contract was 2026.https://t.co/XNy8PdXpOE pic.twitter.com/w1PczulVFw
— Matt Fitzgerald (@MattFitz_gerald) March 4, 2024
You can probably guess what the general vibe is across the NFL Twittersphere right about now. I often give Russ a lot of grief because he presents himself in such a phony way. Plus, he’s now going to be paid many millions of dollars to not play for the Broncos. Don’t know if I can say I truly feel bad for him, but maybe a little bit. Used to root like crazy for this guy. Then, he got on my nerves. That’s reflected in the reaction to Monday’s big news.
"Broncos Country, let's ride!"
The ride: pic.twitter.com/8NMLVb4Czq
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) March 4, 2024
Steelers or Falcons fans if they sign Russell Wilson: pic.twitter.com/Agq9rP4AiS
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) March 4, 2024
Russell Wilson in the aisle of the airplane on his way to Pittsburgh pic.twitter.com/blaoEO6OyE
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) March 4, 2024
Broncos getting rid of Russell Wilson pic.twitter.com/a0Tbk0YmxW
— Pickswise (@Pickswise) March 4, 2024
Broncos fans knowing they never have to watch Russell Wilson again pic.twitter.com/qdbXMJLsoA
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) March 4, 2024
Bathrooms in Russell Wilson’s house: 12
Wins Russ had in his Broncos tenure: 11— Fanatics Sportsbook | PB (@fanaticsbook_pb) March 4, 2024
And Wilson moves to head of class for possible induction into Business of Football Hall of Fame.. https://t.co/ZUk9u5XZym
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) March 4, 2024
Russell Wilson Broncos Era gave us this edit pic.twitter.com/uR5i4UbKrC
— Alex 👋 (@Dubs408) March 4, 2024
Let’s add Russell Wilson to the Seahawks as Geno Smith’s backup and see what happens
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) March 4, 2024
With the news of the Russell Wilson release pic.twitter.com/1dUG6FwzpK
— ThatsGoodSports (@BrandonPerna) March 4, 2024
Russell Wilson vs. Desmond Ridder in the UFL
pic.twitter.com/wSaNcEYNhX— Bookit Sports (@BookitHQ) March 4, 2024
Using a GIF, how would you summarize the Russell Wilson era?
Here’s mine. Let’s ride, indeed: pic.twitter.com/MkjCqcoIDz
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) March 4, 2024
If anyone would like to pay me $85 million dollars to not do any work for them at all, please hit my inbox
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) March 4, 2024
"This is going to go down as one of the worst trades in NFL history."@jjones9 on Broncos informing Russell Wilson he'll be released. pic.twitter.com/jVLdHfLxlr
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) March 4, 2024
Let's get Russell Wilson to the Raiders to play Sean Payton twice a year and then get J.J. McCarthy to the Broncos to play Jim Harbaugh twice a year and then none of it mattering at all because Patrick Mahomes
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) March 4, 2024
Russell Wilson and DeShaun Watson comparing who stole the most money from their teams pic.twitter.com/Sp0MHtjndq
— Mike Nicastro (@MikedUpSports1) March 4, 2024
