5 teams desperate enough to sign Russell Wilson this offseason
When Sean Payton was hired as Denver Broncos head coach, it felt possible. Russell Wilson was coming off the worst season of his career, and would not be coddled like he was during his first year in Denver.
Wilson has played better this year, and after a rough start the Broncos (7-8 ) are in the playoff picture. But driven by finances and the implications if he were to suffer a significant injury over the last two games of the season, the Broncos are benching Wilson for the final two games of the regular season.
To avoid $37 million in injury guarantees for 2025 that would vest on the fifth day of the 2024 season, the Broncos are set to release Wilson before March 17. What about a trade, though? He has a no-trade clause, and it would be of no benefit to him to agree to any trade.
According to multiple reports, the Broncos threatened to bench Wilson in late October if he didn't rework his contract to remove his injury guarantees. The NFLPA got involved, no change to Wilson's contract came and the decision to bench him came this week.
Wilson is clearly not the quarterback he was at his peak with the Seahawks, but in the right situation he can still be more than adequate and the demand for capable NFL quarterbacks exceeds the supply. He could also sign for the veteran minimum with a new team, and saddle the Broncos with the balance of the $39 million total fully guaranteed cash he has coming to him as a parting shot.
These five teams could be desperate enough to sign Wilson once the Broncos officially release him in the offseason.
5 teams who could be desperate enough to sign Russell Wilson in the offseason
5. Washington Commanders
In theory, the Commanders have a promising young quarterback to build around in Sam Howell. But he has been pulled in each of the last two games in favor of Jacoby Brissett. And he has now been benched for at least Week 17, in favor of Brissett getting the start. That opens the door to other possibilities under center after the season, for the short and/or long term.
Head coach Ron Rivera will be fired as soon as the season is over, that much is virtually guaranteed. Washington has new ownership, finally, and an organizational reset is surely coming from the front office down to the coaching staff. They also have a ton of 2024 cap space and a solid haul of capital for April's draft. Signing Wilson wouldn't have to be expensive, or even locked in for multiple years, as the Commanders make changes and try to build a roster that can compete in the NFC East for years to come.
On the offensive side of the ball, it can be argued the Commanders are a "quarterback away" from being quite good. Wilson grew up in Virginia, hours from the team facility, so for whatever that's worth the Commanders could appeal to him a lot once he's free to choose his next team.