Russell Wilson, a Quarterback for the Denver Broncos in The National Football League (NFL), was benched this week in a surprising turn of events, and was replaced by their backup Jarrett Stidham.
Wilson spoke to the media for the first time on Friday, 29 December, and shared how he was already aware for a while, almost since the end of October, that this decision was to take place due to the injury guarantees in his contract.
The Quarterback explained how the Broncos approached him with a special demand as they were to enter their Week 9 bye for the 2023 season, a scheduled break for the team when the players get to rest from the physically and mentally taxing NFL routine while the coaches refine their strategies.
Wilson said, through Troy Renck of the television station Denver7, “Yeah, we beat the Chiefs, they came up to me during the bye week, beginning of the bye week, Monday or Tuesday, and they told me that if I didn’t change my contract, my injury guarantee, that I’d be benched for the rest of the year.”
He also explained how stressful the decision was, “And we had nine games left or so. I was definitely disappointed about it, and it was a process throughout the whole week, for the whole bye week.”
A provision in Wilson’s contract that guarantees $37 million in injuries for the 2025 NFL season goes into effect on March 5, 2024, the fifth day of the league year. This implies that the $37 million for 2025 would become guaranteed if Wilson sustained an injury in one of Denver’s final two games and failed a physical in March.
The Denver Broncos did not want to take such an economic risk, and therefore wanted Wilson to change the clause into something more negotiable.
Asked Russell Wilson if he wanted to talk. @ParkerJGabriel asked him as well as we talked with Russell. He agreed. He was very candid about his disappointment about #Broncos approaching him about adjusting contract during bye week. He said he still would like to stay in Denver.… pic.twitter.com/Kplo1iAUlg
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) December 29, 2023
Why Did Wilson Reject The Deal?
Wilson acknowledged that after playing for 12 years, he had grown to understand the physical nature of football and how it might impact a player’s earning potential, and he thought he shouldn’t have to give up his injury guarantee under his contract.
Therefore, Wilson refused to alter his contract and continued playing, assisting the Broncos in winning five straight games against Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, and Cleveland Browns, where three of the victories followed the bye week and catapulted Denver into the playoff hunt.
However their winning streak was quickly broken and they have now dropped three of their previous four games, losing to the Houston Texans, Detroit Lions and New England Patriots, further diminishing their postseason prospects.
Denver Broncos have officially made the decision to sit Wilson in favor of Jarrett Stidham this week, forcing Wilson to deal with the sudden uncertainty surrounding his future with two games remaining.
Wilson expressed his desires for playing in the team, “You know I want to be here, I want to play here, I want to be able to win here, I want to win championships here, I want to give my all every week, no matter what the circumstances are, no matter what the score is, and I want to be the best teammate and leader that I can be in the midst of it all.”
He added, “So that’s why I was out here at practice every day, and told Jarrett I’d help him and lead and do whatever it takes to keep the guys going on and try to lead the right way. That’s all I know.”
Uncertainty in His Career
Prior to the 2022 season, Denver acquired Wilson in a blockbuster transaction, but coach Sean Payton wasn’t with the team at the time, thus they haven’t seen the production they were hoping for. If Wilson doesn’t align with Payton’s long-term goals, it’s time for the Quarterback to think about taking another path.
In that case, Wilson could question whether he has any future with the Broncos at all as safeguarding the team’s finances would undoubtedly take first. This uncertainty in Denver’s new reality can be seen as he says in dismay, “I don’t know to this day, to be honest with you.”
While Wilson is forced to spend the next two weeks on the sideline, he explained how. “I want to be (here). But I don’t know, and I didn’t know several weeks ago what that would look like either, but I came here for a reason, and that’s to win more championships, that’s still my focus, to this day I’m under contract, and I want to do whatever it takes and that’s why I’m going to practice the right way and do everything the right way.”