Russell Wilson may be happy to have Sean Payton as his coach on the Denver Broncos, but one former NFL star thinks it can turn really bad for him if he does not play better this year.
Last offseason, the Denver Broncos traded a 2022 first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick, a 2022 fifth-round pick, a 2023 first-round pick, a 2023 second-round pick, TE Noah Fant, DE Shelby Harris, and QB Drew Lock to the Seattle Seahawks for Russell Wilson and a 2022 fourth-round draft pick.
Wilson proceeded to have a career-worst season for a team that everybody thought would be a Super Bowl contender.
This offseason, the Broncos sent a first-round pick to the New Orleans Saints to obtain Sean Payton as their head coach.
Keyshawn Johnson, the former standout WR, believes Payton can fix Wilson, but it is just a matter of time before he gives up on him if things do not go his way. He added that knowing Payton, the champion coach won’t hesitate to make changes at the quarterback position if things still don’t work in the 2023 season.
“I think if you look at Sean Payton’s history at the quarterback position, he’s done a tremendous job at getting quarterbacks ready to play, getting quarterbacks ready to have Hall of Fame careers like Drew Brees,” Johnson said.
“In the end, Sean [Payton] said ‘no nonsense.’ He caught himself because he didn’t want to come off as too harsh. But I know Sean [Payton] very, very, very well – very well. And I can guarantee you that if it don’t go the way he wants it to go, despite salary cap ramifications and whatnot, there’s gonna be some major changes and issues at the quarterback position in 2024.”
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
“Remember I said that to this day,” Johnson said. “If it don’t go the way he envisions it to go.”
Not helping matters is Wilson signing a massive five-year deal worth 242 million. The Broncos acquiring Wilson via a trade with the Seattle Seahawks and then signing him to a massive extension may go down as the worst overall moves of the 2022 offseason.
The 34-year-old ended his first campaign with Denver ranked 27th among qualified players with a 36.7 adjusted QBR and 31st with a 60.5% completion percentage. He recorded 16 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions in 15 games
Johnson played on the Dallas Cowboys from 2004 to 2005 – the same time Payton was an offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach with the team, so he has seen Payton coach firsthand and developed a relationship with him.
Wilson will need to put in the work to silence his critics and keep his coach off his back.
