Former Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson may be heading into a make or break year in just his second season with the Broncos. In case you missed the entire 2022 NFL season while hiding under a rock, Wilson regressed in a terrible way – more than any other starting quarterback in the league compared with the previous year. Wilson’s struggles combined with inept rookie coaching helped sink Denver to a 5-12 record and a last-place finish in the ultra-competitive AFC West.
There’s a new sherriff in town heading into 2023 and while Sean Payton may not be the cuddliest character in the NFL’s cinematic universe, he’s probably the best candidate to fix what’s wrong with Wilson’s game – both in the Xs and Os department and in offering hard truths to an athlete in dire need of them.
Buy Seahawks TicketsOn that subject, Seth Wickersham’s new story on ESPN going behind the scenes with the Broncos produced a pretty compelling anecdote. In addition to helping him decode what he’s seeing before the snap, Payton offered a biting bit of career advice. Here’s what he told Wilson, per Wickersham.
“He told Wilson that to salvage his career he needed to focus less on Russell, Inc. ‘Will you stop kissing all the (f—ing) babies?’ He said. ‘You’re not running for public office.'”
That’s not the kind of advice you want to hear your head coach giving to a 10-year veteran like Wilson. If he’s properly motivated and really buys in to what Payton is telling him we believe Wilson should have a bounce-back year. However, there’s a case to be made that the competitor Wilson used to be checked out a while ago and isn’t coming back.
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