The Russell Wilson era in Denver is officially over after just two seasons.
In a result expected since the veteran quarterback was benched Week 17, the Broncos intend to release Wilson when the 2024 league year begins next week, the team announced.
The 2024 league year begins officially March 13. Had Wilson remained on the Broncos’ roster past March 17, his $37 million in base salary for the 2025 season would have become guaranteed.
“We spoke with Russell Wilson today to inform him of his release after the start of the league year,” general manager George Paton and head coach Sean Payton said in a joint statement. “On behalf of the Broncos, we thank Russell for his contributions and dedication to our team and community while wishing him the best as he continues his career.
“As we move forward, we are focused on building the strongest team possible for the 2024 season and beyond. We are excited to improve this offseason and will have the flexibility to get better through the draft and free agency.”
In an extended note on social media, Wilson took time to thank many of his teammates over the past two years in Denver along with memories of their times together. He also thanked several Broncos staffers including film room attendants, cafeteria workers and vice president of player development Ray Jackson.
He had a message, too, for Broncos fans.
“Over these last two years, you have welcomed my family and me with open arms and have embraced us as members of the Denver community,” he said. “This city will always hold a special place in my heart. Our family grew here, we made countless memories and friendships, and formed relationships that will last a lifetime. …
He concluded: “Tough times don’t last, but tough people do. God’s got me. I’m excited for what’s next.”
Assuming the Broncos designate Wilson as a post-June 1 release, they will have to account for $85 million in “dead” salary cap charges over the next two seasons. It is a move without precedent in NFL history. The previous record for dead cap absorbed for a single player was $40.525 million by Atlanta when it traded quarterback Matt Ryan to Indianapolis in 2022.
Thank You Broncos Country – #3 pic.twitter.com/3IoVheYVyI
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) March 4, 2024
Even despite the prospect of doubling the previous dead money record, money is part of the reason that this move has been all but settled for weeks.
Most recently at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis last month, head coach Sean Payton framed the Broncos’ offseason as being about identifying and acquiring the team’s next answer at quarterback.
The Broncos, of course, hoped they’d answered that question two years ago when they acquired Wilson in a massive March 2022 trade with Seattle.
Then before that season began he signed a five-year, $245 million extension that carried through 2028. Instead of a long-term partnership, however, Wilson now will depart the franchise without having ever played on the actual contract extension.
Wilson played the worst year of his career in 2022 under first-time head coach Nathaniel Hackett and Hackett was fired after just 15 games. This year, Wilson played better under Payton and threw 26 touchdowns against just eight interceptions, but also was sacked 45 times in 15 games and finished the year near the middle of the NFL among most quarterback metrics.
Payton grew frustrated over the course of the season with what he saw as a need to trim down the offense around Wilson and the team’s near NFL-worst performance in goal-to-go situations. Eventually, he benched Wilson after a Christmas Eve loss to New England that all but eliminated Denver from playoff contention.
After back-up Jarrett Stidham went 1-1 but engineered just 30 points in the Broncos’ final two games of the season, Payton, general manager George Paton and CEO Greg Penner all left the door open to Wilson potentially returning in 2024.
That always seemed somewhere between unlikely and impossible given that Wilson told reporters the Broncos threatened to bench him midseason without an adjustment to his contract and also due to the extensive financial commitment required of Denver to keep him past this season.
“I want to be (here), but I don’t know,” Wilson said Dec. 29 of his cloudy future with the franchise. “I didn’t know several weeks ago what that would look like, either. I came here for a reason and that’s to win more championships. That’s still my focus. I’m under contract and I want to do whatever it takes.”
Instead, Wilson will be a free agent unless a trade materializes and the Broncos will take on $85 million in dead salary cap space for the quarterback by releasing him.
Paton acknowledged that the financial ramifications of cutting Wilson would be “extreme,” but added that the front office has, “prepared for any scenario. … We’ll have flexibility either way to do what we need to do.”
The Broncos got some relief on that front recently when the NFL set the league’s base salary cap at $255.4 million per team, well above previous projections.
In Wilson’s 30 starts for the Broncos, Denver went 11-19. Over two seasons, Wilson completed 63.3% of his passes for 6,594 yards, 42 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. He was sacked 100 times, a 9.7% sack rate that far outstripped even his lofty 8.3% rate in Seattle.
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Now in all likelihood he’s got another football first coming: Free agency.
Denver will get modest salary cap relief from whatever base salary guarantee Wilson receives from his next team, but Wilson and that team each have little incentive to go much past the veteran minimum of $1.21 million. Wilson is getting $39 million guaranteed from the Broncos in 2024.
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