Russell Wilson expects to be cut by the Denver Broncos in March after shock news on Wednesday that he is being benched for the rest of the season.
According to The Athletic, the quarterback believes his time at the franchise is over and he has been working under that assumption for the past two months.
Wilson broke his silence late on Wednesday night, writing on X: ‘God’s got me. Looking forward to what’s next.’
Multiple reports on Wednesday night say the Broncos spoke to Wilson on Halloween – two days after leading the team to victory over the Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs – where they warned him he would be made inactive if he didn’t defer $37million in guarantees in his contract.
Wilson has even liked a tweet on X where Bleacher Report’s NFL Insider Jordan Schultz made the claims about the showdown talks after beating the Chiefs.
The Broncos are currently 7-8 for the season, third in the AFC West and have two games to go against the Los Angeles Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders.
As well as acknowledging the clip about being asked to defer money, Wilson also liked a tweet showing his stats for the year at present are better than Patrick Mahomes, last season’s MVP and Super Bowl winning quarterback with the Chiefs.
Denver has gone 11-19 in the two seasons since signing Wilson, 35, at extortionate cost from the Seahawks in 2022. The quarterback has earned $124million, while the Broncos have also given up more than $85m in dead cap money over 2024 and 2025.
Noah Fant, Drew Lock, Shelby Harris were traded to Seattle as part of the trade, as were a 2022 first round pick (Charles Cross), a 2022 second round pick (Boye Mafe), 2022 fifth round pick (Tyreke Smith), a 2023 first round pick (Devon Witherspoon) and 2023 second round pick (Derick Hall).
According to Adam Schefter, Wilson is already set to earn a guaranteed $39million in salary for 2024.
However, Wilson gets an additional $37m in salary freed up if he isn’t able to pass a physical by early March. So by making sure that Wilson stays healthy, the Broncos will make sure they hold onto that extra $37m.
‘We’re desperately trying to win. Sure, in our game today, there are economics and other things,’ coach Sean Payton said on Wednesday.
‘But the number one thing… is to get a spark offensively. As a head coach, you’ve got to make some tough decisions and they won’t always be right. They just won’t. You go with your gut and your instincts.’
Jarrett Stidham will start those final two games against the Chargers and the Raiders, with Wilson expected to be No 2, according to The Athletic. He has thrown for 3,070 yards with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
It is unclear where either party goes from here. Wilson could struggle to find a new team after his struggles with the Broncos who, for now at least, have two games to weigh up what they think about Stidham.
Their record means that however the season ends from here, they will almost certainly be out of range to draft quarterback prospects such as Caleb Williams.
