Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos had a dramatic end to the 2023 season.
With two games remaining, coach Sean Payton benched Wilson and justified his decision by saying Jarrett Stidham could give the offense a spark. Wilson later publicly said the team had threatened to bench him weeks earlier if he did not revise his contract, but Payton has insisted that he made a football decision, not a financial one.
Regardless of whether or not Wilson was benched over his contract, the two sides had an awkward ending to the 2023 campaign that will now carry over into the 2024 offseason.
Payton has said the team will not drag out a decision on Wilson’s future with the club. Wilson’s $37 million salary for the 2025 season is scheduled to become guaranteed on March 17, so the team seems likely to make a decision by that deadline.
What comes next for Wilson and the Broncos? Here are five potential next steps for the quarterback and Denver’s front office.
5
Russell Wilson could retire
This, of course, is an extremely unlikely scenario. Wilson said before he joined the Broncos that he wants to play until he’s 45 years old, and he reiterated this season that he wants to play beyond 40. Wilson is 35 and hasn’t expressed any interest in retiring, but it’s technically a possibility. Wilson retiring would give Denver some salary cap relief, but it’s No. 5 on the list because it seems to be the least likely outcome.
4
Russell Wilson could return, no strings attached
The Broncos have insisted that Wilson could remain with the team in 2024, and the quarterback has even said he wants to stay in Denver. Since the Broncos have to pay him regardless of whether or not he’s on the roster, keeping him for at least another season remains an option.
3
Russell Wilson could return with a revised contract
When the Broncos say “the door is open” for Wilson to return, there might be a caveat to that statement. We know that Denver already tried to get Wilson to revise his contract during the 2023 season, so it seems reasonable to assume the Broncos will continue negotiations this offseason. Wilson has all the leverage and he wasn’t willing to rework his deal during the season. It remains to be seen if the QB will change his stance this spring.
2
Russell Wilson could be traded
Once again, Wilson will have leverage due to the no-trade clause in his contract. If the Broncos agree to a trade with another team, Wilson would have to approve it. And other teams might not be interested in taking on the QB’s full contract. Denver could agree to pay part of Wilson’s contract to get a deal done. The Broncos could also sweeten the deal with a draft pick to get a team to eat Wilson’s cap space, similar to what the Houston Texans did with Brock Osweiler in 2017, but Denver already has limited draft capital. And again, Wilson would have to sign off on any trade. Gaining a draft pick and freeing up some cap space via trade would be a best-case scenario for the Broncos, but finding a trade partner (that Wilson would agree to) might prove to be difficult.
1
Russell Wilson could be released
After all the late-season drama, this seems like the most likely outcome. Designating Wilson’s release as a post-June 1 transaction would give the team “dead money” salary cap hits of $35.4 million in 2024 and $49.6 million in 2025. That would be a lot of cap space designated to a player no longer on the roster, but if Payton does not believe Wilson is Denver’s best QB option, it’s hard to imagine Wilson remaining with the team.
