The Denver Broncos moved off of Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson this offseason after two years with the organization. But according to Broncos head coach Sean Payton, the decision was not ultimately a tough one whatsoever.
Wilson has had a ton of success over the years, reaching the Pro Bowl nine times in his career and famously leading the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship in 2014.
He also had a pretty solid season on paper last year, throwing for 3,070 yards to go along with 26 passing touchdowns and just eight interceptions in 15 games played.
The Broncos also ate a pretty significant cap hit by cutting Wilson. They will need to take on $85 million in dead cap over the next three seasons because of the move.
With all of these factors, most would assume that the decision to release Wilson would have been a difficult decision for the Broncos to come to. But according to Sean Payton, the decision was not a tough one whatsoever.
When asked in a recent interview whether the decision was “difficult” or not due to the dead cap that the team now has to deal with, Payton responded with a firm “no”.
#Broncos HC Sean Payton with a one word answer on whether or not it was difficult to move on without Russell Wilson, 85 Million dollar dead cap hit and all pic.twitter.com/oYheLj5Pju
— Bob Pompeani (@KDPomp) March 26, 2024
It’s about as point blank of an answer that you will ever get from a head coach about a former player. Payton very clearly didn’t want Wilson around anymore, which could be the biggest factor in his departure.
Wilson of course ended up landing on his feet, signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers to become their starter quarterback for at least the upcoming 2024-25 season.
As for Payton and the Broncos, they are widely expected by most to be looking at selecting a quarterback in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft.
