The Denver Broncos are benching Russell Wilson in favor of backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham this week against the Los Angeles Chargers, ESPN reported on Wednesday.
While that report indicates a performance move, dueling reports from NFL Network and Pro Football Talk said on Wednesday that the Broncos are giving serious thought to shutting Wilson down for the final two games to avoid injury, given his contract situation.
Regardless, Stidham draws the start under circumstances that are similar to a year ago, when he was with the Las Vegas Raiders, who opted to bench starter Derek Carr under a similar premise.
At issue is Wilson’s long-term future with the Broncos, given his massive contract and mediocre results.
Wilson has a $37m injury guarantee for 2025 that vests in March and would become unavoidable if Wilson sustained an injury in these last two games and failed a physical. That was the same scenario last year for Carr and the Raiders, who traded the quarterback in the offseason to New Orleans.
Denver would owe $37m more to Wilson in cash and a record $85m in dead money – the cost of which will likely be spread over two years – if they cut Wilson, an unprecedented sum.
The Broncos (7-8) are hanging on to extremely slim playoff hopes, currently the 12th seed in the AFC. They have lost three of their past four games after a five-game winning streak thrust them back into the playoff chase. Denver has a 6% chance of making the playoffs, according to the New York Times’ playoff scenarios.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton said Tuesday that the offense wasn’t close to being “good enough” under Wilson. “So many times, when we look at some of that stuff, it’s self-inflicted problems,” Payton told reporters on Tuesday. “That has to get cleaned up. That’s communication. That might be having to reduce – is there too much in? Right now, we’re average to below average in a lot of things offensively, and it’s not good enough.”
Wilson, 35, has completed 66% of his passes for 3,070 yards and 26 touchdowns against eight interceptions in 15 starts this season. He has failed to be the quarterback for the Broncos that he was in Seattle, where he went 104-53-1 as the starter, throwing for 37,059 yards and making nine Pro Bowls in 10 seasons.
Stidham, 27, has appeared in one game this season, mop-up duty in the Broncos’ 42-17 loss at Detroit on 16 December. He went 0-2 starting for Carr last year in his only two NFL starts. He has thrown for 926 yards and six touchdowns against seven interceptions.
Reuters contributed reporting
