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When Russell Wilson joined the Denver Broncos in 2022, Broncos fans thought this was it. 

Russ was the answer Broncos Country had been looking for—the solution to the nearly decade-long curse that the team has suffered since Super Bowl 50, someone who could hold his own in Peyton Manning’s shadow, a worthy adversary for Patrick Mahomes.

The Broncos announced they’d traded for Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks in March 2022, and it seemed like a new era was dawning. Orange-and-blue #3 jerseys sold out. Ticket prices increased. Before Wilson even played a single game, the Broncos gave him a five-year extension that was supposed to last through 2028. 

I got married in May 2022, and for our wedding gifts to each other, my husband and I talked about getting Russell Wilson Broncos jerseys—that’s how excited we were. We ended up not following through. I can’t remember why, maybe we were realistic and wanted to see how Wilson did first, more likely we just were broke after the wedding.

Either way, we made a smarter decision than Broncos ownership did. By now, the Russell Wilson trade is one of the most infamous trades in NFL history for how badly it turned out for the Broncos. The team gave up valuable draft picks and star players to land Wilson, while Seattle gave barely anything back in return.  

Now it’s 2024, and Denver is already shutting the door on its Wilson era. The team has announced that the quarterback will be released when the new league season begins on March 13th—and no one’s surprised. What went wrong? 

Here’s a breakdown of the reasons why Wilson just couldn’t cut it in the Mile High City, and where things might go from here. Some people just aren’t made for that thin mountain air.

4 Reasons Why Wilson Didn’t Work Out in Denver 

#1: Denver Got New Ownership 

The same year that Russell Wilson signed as quarterback, the Broncos franchise was sold for almost $5 billion from the Bowlen family to an ownership group headed by Rob Walton (son of Sam Walton, who founded Walmart). 

Pat Bowlen had owned the Broncos since 1984. After his death and some fighting among his family, it was finally agreed that it was best to put the team up for sale—with the promise that the sale wouldn’t involve a move to another city or state. Fans could sleep at night knowing their boys in blue and orange would stay in Denver. 

But with new ownership comes new expectations. Not only was the Wilson era starting in Denver, it was a completely new era for the entire franchise. What do billionaires want when they just bought out a whole sports team? They want to win right away, of course, so they know their investment won’t go to waste. 

Due to this change, Russ had more pressure on him than what quarterbacks typically experience when they begin their first year with a new team. Everyone thought his arrival would transform the Broncos into a playoff-winning, Mahomes-smacking powerhouse… or would at least give the Broncos somewhat of a chance. The new ownership had high expectations, too.

#2: Denver Got A New Head Coach 

We’re not gonna talk about Nathaniel Hackett here. The head coach who is the biggest factor for Wilson’s ouster from Denver is Sean Payton. 

In 2023, for Wilson’s second season with the team, the Broncos pulled out all the stops to hire Payton, who’s most well-known for coaching the Saints and grooming Drew Brees into a Super Bowl-winning quarterback. Payton had years of success in New Orleans. He could totally replicate that in Denver, with a veteran quarterback and a solid roster. Right? Right. 

Unfortunately, Payton and Wilson did not get along, and the whole world knows about it. After screaming at Wilson on the sidelines, and then benching the quarterback for the last two games, Payton made it clear toward the end of the season that he runs his team a certain way, and Wilson wasn’t cutting it. 

When your head coach and your quarterback clearly don’t mesh, one of them has got to go. In this case, the Broncos sided with Payton. Handling their exit strategy with Wilson poorly and unprofessionally just rubbed salt in the wound. 

#3: A Division Villain Looms 

The NFL is impatient, but arguably no division is more impatient than the AFC West. The division is home to the Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Las Vegas Raiders. 

There’s probably a familiar name in that mix. Yes, those Chiefs. The ones who just won the Super Bowl. Who became world-famous due to a certain singer dating one of their star players. Plus their quarterback is some dude named Patrick Mahomes. 

The Chiefs will likely rule the NFL for the next decade, and they’re automatically the top of the AFC West. The other divisional teams are vying for second place at this point, so the Broncos are just hoping that they can hold their own against Mahomes (no worries about the Chargers or Raiders; they’re not doing too hot themselves). 

That means the Broncos need their own quarterback superhero who can go toe-to-toe with Mahomes and at least sometimes walk away with a win. The team’s looking for an old-school, Western-style showdown, a sheriff who can tip his hat to Mahomes and give Andy Reid the evil eye before clicking his spurs to the 20-yard line and shooting first. 

Could that sheriff be Russell Wilson? Broncos Country hoped so. But he wasn’t… and it took only two seasons for Broncos ownership to figure that out.

#4: Russ Just Wasn’t Good Enough 

Wilson suffered a regression during his first season in Denver, and no one was totally sure it was due to poor coaching. The same quarterback who was selected to the Pro Bowl nine times in Seattle and led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl threw for just 16 touchdowns and had the worst passer rating of his career in 2022. 

Hackett, Wilson’s first head coach, was fired before the 2022 season was even finished. Wilson improved in his second season, but that wasn’t enough for fans, ownership, or his new coach, Payton. Unfortunately, the Wilson era will be remembered for some of the lowest moments in franchise history. 

There are teams who lose, and then there are teams who are embarrassed. The Broncos were embarrassed over and over throughout Wilson’s short tenure. 

Who wants to remember that one game where the defense allowed 70 points? Or the time Wilson’s own teammates were fed up with him? At this point, everyone’s completely forgotten how Wilson made his regular season debut with the Broncos against his old team—and promptly lost, while the Seahawks started a magical run with once-backup-quarterback Geno Smith. That first game was a sign of things to come. 

Every step of the way, it’s become more and more clear that Denver had made a mistake with Wilson. Did he deserve more time to prove himself? Yes. Did he ever have a chance in the first place, given the changes and demands of the organization? No. Is that fair? …No. 

Still, Wilson didn’t prove himself quickly enough. Two years in the NFL? That’s long enough, for the people who are calling the shots. He’s out. 

Where We Go From Here 

Russell Wilson 

Russ can ride off into the Rocky Mountain sunset, just minus the Lombardi trophies he apparently wanted to win with the Broncos. 

Now that Wilson has been released, he’s free to join any other team in the NFL. There are many, many other places in the league that are desperate for three things: 

• Competent quarterback play
• A solid veteran to help train a promising rookie who’s warming the bench
• A one-year player who can fill a need in a roster that’s otherwise all-in 

Wilson can be all three of those. Plus, he’s a nine-year Pro Bowl player who’s won a Super Bowl, and his name is well-known throughout the NFL. He just needs to land someplace where he can salvage his excellent career instead of totally burning out. So, Wilson will be looking for that team he clicks with—and which he can possibly be a starter with. 

Good luck, Russ. Wish we could say it was good while it lasted. At least we can move on from the cringey “Let’s Ride!” moments. 

The Broncos 

As for the team, the Broncos are in a very interesting spot. They pick 12th in the upcoming draft in April, which means that they’re high enough in the draft to get a really good player but maybe not quite high enough for that player to be a quarterback. 

The Broncos could trade up to a better draft spot, but are they willing to risk squandering players and future draft picks after embarrassing themselves over the Wilson trade? They could wait and see if some lower-tier, intriguing quarterbacks fall far enough—Bo Nix or Michael Penix Jr., for example—and otherwise hold tight to their trading cards. 

The second option seems most likely. That, or tapping a veteran such as Kirk Cousins who becomes available on the free agent market. 

Either way, the Broncos have lots of options. Confusing and curious options—but options. They are taking a huge salary cap hit by releasing Wilson, which means that they have less money than some other teams to spend on securing players. No matter what they choose, the team has a long rebuild ahead—which seems to be exactly the trajectory Sean Payton has settled on. 

After years of chasing the ghosts of John Elway and Peyton Manning, a new era is truly dawning in Denver, led by a head coach who will slowly build his roster and find a quarterback who fits into his schemes. Wilson’s out. Sean Payton’s here to stay. There’s a new sheriff in town for Broncos Country—and it’s not the quarterback.