No one should be happier about Russell Wilson's looming downfall than Sean Payton

The Denver Broncos are paying Russell Wilson over $35 million to stay as far away from their football team as possible. It was a bold choice by Denver to part ways with Wilson given the money involved, but they did just that in hopes of a fresh start. Wilson has since signed in Pittsburgh, where he will be the Week 1 starter playing on what's essentially the veteran minimum for his position.

However, it's not so simple for Wilson. He suffered a calf injury early in training camp and had to miss the team's first preseason game as a result. Meanwhile, Justin Fields impressed Mike Tomlin so much that he waited until this Wednesday to name a starting quarterback. Tomlin called it a tough decision, and spoke with Fields personally along with the Steelers locker room.

To make matters worse for Wilson, just because Fields won't start at quarterback doesn't mean he won't get on the field. Tomlin plans on employing Fields early and often Week 1 against the Falcons.

"My friend Raheem Morris better be ready for a Justin Fields package," Tomlin said. "There's too much talent to be sitting around watching."

Russell Wilson has to prove himself or Sean Payton, Broncos right

Denver willingly let Wilson walk out the door and paid him a boatload of money to do so. One could argue that no NFL player has more motivation to prove his naysayers wrong than Russ right now. As Aditi Kinkhabwala of CBS Sports detailed when Wilson left Denver, the Broncos took the offense out of his hands, simplifying every read to Payton's liking.

"He was constantly climbing out of the back of the pocket. He struggled with snap counts. He couldn't manage or handle the play-calling. They went from putting a wristband on [him] to by the end of the season, all the play calls had to be two words and everybody else was required to know what the play calls were," Kinkhabwala said.

That's borderline demeaning, even for Wilson. While Russ isn't the player he once was, he's still a Super Bowl-winning quarterback who -- with a bit of luck in his remaining years -- could be a borderline Hall of Famer.

There were also allegations that Payton held Wilson out of games late in the season to avoid a roster bonus.

Payton had high expectations for his offense, as he's seen how successful it can be at its best. Wilson wasn't Brees, and that was held against him. Now, Payton had a chance to draft his own QB of the future, rather than a bad contract he inherited. If Wilson's career takes another hit in Pittsburgh, no one will look better than Payton.