The Denver Broncos benched quarterback Russell Wilson on Wednesday due to a contract matter, and his teammates had a lot to say about it.
On top of the benching news, reports have come out that the Broncos will likely part ways with Wilson in the offseason. Wilson was supposed to be the second coming of Peyton Manning after the Broncos sent two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick, tight end Noah Fant, quarterback Drew Lock, and defensive lineman Shelby Harris to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for the future Hall of Famer.
Denver subsequently signed Wilson to a five-year, $242.5 million contract extension through 2028 as well.
Now, his tenure is all but over.
But what about his teammates?
Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy relayed the message that the entire locker room was shocked by the news.
“It was a surprise to everybody in our locker room.” … “He (Payton) just told us out of nowhere. So, I was pretty surprised having Russ our starting the quarterback the whole year, then the last 2 games, being a switch.“
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Broncos right tackle Mike McGlinchey added:
“Obviously, sucks. It’s a weird day,” McGlinchey said. “It’s obviously something that I wasn’t necessarily expecting, but you’ve got to believe in what the coaching staff believes in, and what Sean’s doing.”
Wilson’s first year in Denver couldn’t have gone much worse as he went 4-11 as a starter and completed 60.5 percent of his passes for 3,524 yards, a career-low 16 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
Ultimately, former head coach Nathaniel Hackett was the scapegoat and was fired.
Denver made the decision to trade a 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 second-round pick to the New Orleans Saints for Sean Payton.
Wilson’s numbers improved as he is completing 66.4 percent of his passes for 1,499 yards, 13 touchdowns, and four picks, but it hasn’t translated to many wins.
