Russell Wilson may need to keep his career prospects open with his longtime team’s latest move to bench him.
The NFL star’s history with the Denver Broncos appears to be nearing its finale after the organization reportedly decided to drop the quarterback as a starter. They also plan to leave him inactive to avoid paying a hefty sum per his contract.
Russell Wilson Expected To Be Cut Over $37 Million In Injury Guarantee Per Sources
Reports of the Denver Broncos’ decision to bench Wilson came via the NFL insider Dianna Russini. The reporter recently broke the heartbreaking news on X, sharing multiple tweets about the quarterback’s future with his longtime team.
According to her, Wilson knew about the Broncos’ plans to cut him, yet he continued giving his all on the field for months. “Russell Wilson is expecting to be cut by the Denver Broncos in March, per league sources,” she began before adding:
“For almost two months, the quarterback has been starting knowing the organization was most likely going to move on him from after this season.”
In a second tweet, Russini explained multiple sources linked the Broncos’ decision to bench Wilson over a $37 million injury guarantee clause in his contract. The NFL organization allegedly wanted to avoid paying the hefty fee in case the quarterback got injured and couldn’t pass a physical by early March.
The reporter’s message read: “The Broncos reached out to Wilson’s representatives in late October and explained that Wilson would lose the starting job and be made inactive for the rest of the season if he did not defer the injury guarantee trigger date that he has for 2025, per multiple league sources.” She continued in a third tweet, writing:
“Wilson has $37 million in injury guarantees for 2025 that will become guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2024 league year in March. Lawyers, including some with the NFLPA, were involved, and no changes were made to the contract.”
Although Wilson was aware he would be left inactive if he didn’t defer this injury guarantee, he reportedly was told at the last minute when the change would be effective. “It was explained the Broncos never told Wilson if or when they would bench him this season, he just played until he was told this morning he was no longer starting,” Russini revealed.
The sudden loss of his starting role should have left a bitter taste in Wilson’s mouth; however, the NFL star handled the situation with class. Following the news, the 11-time NFC Offensive Player of the Week updated his X page with the retort, “God’s got me. Looking forward to what’s next.”
Fans React To The Denver Broncos’ Decision To Bench Russell Wilson
While Wilson reacted to the heartbreaking news gracefully, his fans were far from pleased. Many called out the Denver Broncos for making a big mistake, while others praised the quarterback and claimed he deserved better than the team.
“How many guys in the league would have handled this with as much class as Russ has? What a bad situation he’s been dealing with in the background all year. I was open to conversations about moving on from him this offseason, but he deserves better than this,” an upset X user penned.
Another echoed similar sentiments, writing, “The coach is toxic. The offensive line has been very weak. Russ was supposed to take a very average team to the Super Bowl. Russ deserves better than this organization. Just because he is a gentleman, people put him down. Many fans are toxic as well.”
“The Broncos did you dirty,” a third lamented while someone else hailed Wilson’s response to his benching, tweeting, “Dude wrote this by the fireplace on a bearskin rug sipping orange soda.”
More Wilson supporters continued bashing the Broncos, with one declaring, “Glad the NFLPA stepped in. Absolute clown behavior from the Broncos org.” A fellow critic noted the quarterback’s achievements deserved better, penning:
“29 total touchdowns to only eight interceptions deserves better than this. Broncos are trash for treating him this way.”
Fans’ thoughts about the Broncos may not be off the mark, with the NFL’s postseason probabilities putting the team in a lousy spot per their Next Gen Stats model. The probability model reportedly simulates the remainder of the NFL season 10,000 times to provide detailed estimates of each team’s playoff chances.
According to the Next Gen Stats playoff picture, the Broncos are part of the speculated teams with less than 10% probability to earn a playoff spot. They have an 8% chance, which may or may not have been influenced by their decision to bench Wilson.