Back in March 2022, the Seahawks traded their franchise QB, Russell Wilson, to the Denver Broncos. This was a monumental moment for the franchise, as Wilson had been with the franchise for a decade and was one of the most accomplished players in team history.
The move would work out more for the Seahawks than the Broncos during the 2022 regular season.
Now, fast forward to the offseason one year later and the team now has Sean Payton as head coach. On Monday, Payton said he found it hard to watch the Broncos’ offense from last year.
“It wasn’t good,” Payton said on Monday from the Annual League Meeting. “Wasn’t good on offense, that’s for sure. It was a hard film to watch.”
Russell Wilson reportedly underwent arthroscopic knee surgery this offseason, but when asked about it, Sean Payton had very little to say about it.
“Injury-wise, I’ll keep you posted,” Payton said, via Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette. “That’s something we’re probably not going to talk about, probably ever.”
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The Broncos spent big to protect what many analysts believe is their ‘No. 1 asset’ in Wilson, but they also notably signed career journeyman Jarrett Stidham as Wilson’s backup without informing Wilson of the signing.
A previous report says the move wasn’t to “put pressure” on Wilson, but the franchise is willing to undergo a midseason quarterback change if his play doesn’t improve under new head coach Sean Payton.
“If Wilson by midseason 2023 is having a similarly disastrous season to his first one in Denver, Payton won’t have to punt on the season. He’ll have an intriguing backup waiting in the wings,” Peter King of NBC Sports wrote.
“Payton did not go hard after Stidham to put pressure on Wilson. He considered his options at backup QB and thought he could play it safe for around the same money with an Andy Dalton type, or swing for the fences on a young prospect with significant upside. I like the logic.”
During his ten years with Seattle, Wilson had nine Pro Bowl selections, more wins than any QB has ever won in his first ten seasons, and a Super Bowl title.
Now, he is looking like a shell of himself. Wilson had the worst year of his career last season, throwing for 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The Broncos went 5-12 and fired HC Nathaniel Hackett after just one year.
After one year, this looks like one of the best trades in NFL history for the Seahawks and one of the worst for Denver.
