By The Athletic NFL Staff
5h ago
Russell Wilson’s ride with the Denver Broncos may be over.
Multiple league sources confirmed Wednesday the Broncos will bench the quarterback for their final two games and start Jarrett Stidham. Denver (7-8) hosts the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday and visits the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 18. Wilson will be the No. 2 quarterback, a team source said.
Wilson expects to be cut in March, per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. That would be just two years after the Broncos traded two first-round picks, two second-round picks, three players and more to Seattle for the quarterback, a nine-time Pro Bowler with the Seahawks.
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Wilson has thrown for 3,070 yards with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions this season, his first under head coach Sean Payton, but his contract is an issue. Wilson is guaranteed $39 million for 2024. He has $37 million in injury guarantees that become fully guaranteed if he is still on the roster on the fifth day of the 2024 league year that begins in March.
So what does this mean for Wilson in 2024? If the Broncos do cut him, who might have a need and interest? We identified four teams — the Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots and Washington Commanders — that could potentially be in the mix for Wilson, who turned 35 last month and is about to finish his 12th season in the NFL.
The Athletic’s beat writers for those teams weighed in on why Wilson might be a fit, and why he might not.
Las Vegas Raiders
Why Wilson might be a fit: The only way this would make any sense for the Raiders is if Wilson is released. They have to find a way to move on from their own expensive backup quarterback — Jimmy Garoppolo — this offseason, they will incur a sizable dead money hit as a result and won’t have any interest in taking on Wilson’s salary. With that being said, Wilson has been solid this year: He’s 10th in completion percentage, 16th in passing yards, tied for sixth in passing touchdowns and has thrown just eight interceptions in 15 games. He’s no longer a Pro Bowl-level player, but he’s still a starting-caliber quarterback. If he’s willing to sign for cheap and the Raiders aren’t able to draft their quarterback of the future, perhaps signing him to compete with Aidan O’Connell for the starting job could make sense.
Why he might not: The Raiders really, really, really need to draft their quarterback of the future this offseason. After moving on from Derek Carr and soon doing the same with Garoppolo, they need to get off the aging veteran quarterback treadmill and reset their timeline.
