To a lot of people’s surprise, the Broncos decided to bench QB Russell Wilson for the rest of the season for backup Jarrett Stidham.
It was a surprise to many because Wilson has been having a pretty good season throwing for 3070 yards, 26 touchdowns, and only 8 interceptions. Not to mention the Broncos still have a shot at getting to the playoffs.
Sources to @BleacherReport: The #Broncos threatened to bench Russell Wilson weeks ago if he didn’t remove his injury guarantees.
Russell Wilson’s benching by the Broncos today is solely financially related and has been in the works for weeks, per multiple sources with direct… pic.twitter.com/pmq172Cm1H
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) December 27, 2023
However, this shouldn’t have come as a surprise to Wilson because this has been in the works for a few weeks now. After the Broncos upset over the Chiefs, the team went to Wilson to try and get him to defer his injury guarantee trigger date for 2025 that would pay him $37 million in injury guarantees for 2025 no matter what on the 5th day of the 2024 league year. If he didn’t he was told he would be inactive.
Wilson obviously disagreed and here we are now with him on the bench for the rest of the season and we may have seen the last of Russell Wilson in a Broncos jersey.
After the news of his benching, it was reported that he would likely be released in the offseason and because he had a pretty good season there are likely to be plenty of suitors for his services next year.
Here are the top teams:
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings have plenty of talent on the offensive side of the ball and lost QB Kurt Cousins due to a season ending achilles injury. Even if he didn’t get injured, Cousins could become a free agent in 2024 and could be out of Minnesota leaving them looking for another QB. Wilson would fill the void and put the Vikings back on top of the NFC North.
New England Patriots
The Patriots could be looking for a brand new coach and QB for next season. Mac Jones tenure hasn’t been what the Patriots need and they will likely either draft a QB or look for one via trade or free agency. That put Wilson on their radar for the spot. Even if they drafted a QB Wilson could be a pretty good bridge QB for the franchise.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons have a lot of talent but it just isn’t working out with Ridder. It might be too early to give up on him but in the NFL nowadays, guys either produce or they get benched leaving the Falcons primed for Wilson. He could step into a pretty good situation in a division that seems to be up for that taking.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers have been looking for a franchise QB ever since Ben Roethlisberger retired. Now, Russell Wilson might not be the best long term option but he still has plenty left in the tank to make the Steelers relevant again. They could draft someone for Wilson to mentor while they compete for division titles and make a seamless transition for the QB of the future.
