SI:AM | What Cutting Russ Means for the Broncos

Plus, Jason Kelce calls it a career.

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. It never ceases to amaze me how the NFL has become a year-round league.

In today’s SI:AM:

👋 Russ gets cut

🥹 Jason Kelce says goodbye

🦌 History for a women’s hoops team

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Broncos Country, let’s ride (out of town)

Russell Wilson’s time with the Denver Broncos is over.

Wilson was informed by the team yesterday that he will be released once the new league year begins next week. The news marks the end of an underwhelming tenure in Denver and solidifies that the Broncos’ trade for him will go down as probably the worst deal in NFL history.

Wilson was acquired from the Seattle Seahawks before the 2022 season for a massive haul of five draft picks and three players. Here’s who Seattle got in return for the aging QB:

• 2022 first-round pick (No. 9): Charles Cross. Two-year starter at left tackle.
• 2022 second-round pick (No. 40): Boye Mafe. Led the Seahawks with nine sacks this season.
• 2022 fifth-round pick (No. 145): Seattle subsequently traded the pick to the Chiefs in exchange for two more picks. Neither player drafted with those picks (Dareke Young and Tyreke Smith) has made an impact.
• 2023 first-round pick (No. 5): Devon Witherspoon. He was selected to the Pro Bowl and finished fourth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting this season.
• 2023 second-round pick (No. 37): Derick Hall. Played all 17 games for the Seahawks this season.
• Noah Fant. Seattle’s starting tight end for each of the past two seasons.
• Shelby Harris. Started 15 games on the defensive line in 2022 before he was released as a cap casualty.
• Drew Lock. Backup quarterback to Geno Smith. Led Seattle to a thrilling win on Monday Night Football over the Philadelphia Eagles this season that kept the team’s playoff hopes alive.

And for all that, the Broncos got a quarterback who went 11–19 as a starter with a 90.9 passer rating and a defensive lineman, Eyioma Uwazurike, who saw limited action in eight games before being suspended indefinitely for gambling violations.

As bad as the trade was, what really killed the Broncos is the massive contract extension Wilson signed after landing in Denver. He inked a five-year deal worth up to $243 million ($161 million guaranteed) that now is getting torn up after just two years. By cutting Wilson, the Broncos will incur a record $85 million dead cap penalty over the next two seasons. The team can decide whether to pay the majority of that penalty in 2024 or ’25. As it stands now, the Broncos are $19 million over the cap, according to Spotrac. That number would rise if they choose to suck it up and pay more of the dead money in ’24.

The other frustrating thing from a Broncos perspective is that they made strides under new coach Sean Payton in his first season, finishing 8–9 and taking themselves out of position to take a Wilson replacement at the top of the draft. They’ll pick 12th in this year’s draft, with at least three QB-needy teams ahead of them (maybe four, depending on what happens with Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings).

Even at 35, Wilson remains a quality NFL quarterback. He may not be the same game-changing player he was during his early seasons in Seattle, but he’s still a capable starter. He was tied for the league lead this season with four fourth-quarter comebacks. (Tied, funnily enough, with the Seahawks’ Geno Smith.) Plenty of teams should be interested in signing him, especially when they only have to pay him the league minimum salary because the Broncos are on the hook for the $39 million he’s owed in 2024.

So where could Wilson end up? He could stay in the division and go to the Las Vegas Raiders, where Jimmy Garoppolo will be released. He could go to the Vikings, if Cousins signs elsewhere. The Pittsburgh Steelers have been connected to Wilson, but The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo reported yesterday that the team isn’t interested in signing him.

The Broncos will now resume their nearly decade-long quest of finding a franchise quarterback. Since Peyton Manning’s retirement after the 2015 season, 12 different players have started at quarterback for Denver. That list includes veteran stopgaps such as Teddy Bridgewater, Case Keenum and Joe Flacco, infamous draft bust Paxton Lynch and a litany of unheralded young players (Brett Rypien and Brandon Allen). It’s a tough position for the Broncos, but fortunately the next guy will come with a much cheaper price tag than Wilson.

The best of Sports Illustrated

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

• Conor Orr wrote about why Wilson’s time with the Broncos seemed destined to be a failure.
• Orr also reflected on the career of Jason Kelce, who announced his retirement yesterday.
• Jimmy Traina paid tribute to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, who was among those who created the role of the sports insider.
• Although he was already a top prospect, NFL teams came away from the combine even more impressed with North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye, Albert Breer writes.
• LIV Golf has officially abandoned its quest for Official World Golf Rankings recognition, Bob Harig reports.
• About 90% of eligible players have signed up to be featured in EA Sports’ College Football 25, but Texas quarterback Arch Manning won’t be one of them.
• Veteran third baseman Josh Donaldson announced that he is retiring from baseball.
• After improving its record to 26–1, the Fairfield women’s basketball team made a plea on social media to be ranked for the first time in program history. It worked. The Stags are No. 25 in this week’s AP Top 25.

The top five...

… things I saw last night:

5. Anthony Davis’s lockdown defense on this play against the Thunder.

4. The cricket player who broke a car window with a ball.

3. The Bucks’ 13–0 fourth-quarter run to take the lead against the Clippers.

2. Collin Sexton’s alley oop pass to Keyonte George, who threw it off the glass right back to Sexton for the slam.

1. Aleksander Barkov’s unbelievable hand-eye coordination on this assist.

SIQ

Hall of Fame Dead Ball era slugger Sam Thompson, who was born on this day in 1860, began his big league career with Detroit’s short-lived National League team. What was the team’s nickname?

• Lions
• Wolverines
• Spartans
• Trappers

Yesterday’s SIQ: Michael Jordan played his first professional baseball game on March 4, 1994, against the Texas Rangers, hitting a weak ground ball up the first base line. The pitcher he faced was at the time a 23-year-old rookie who went on to have a 20-year MLB career with nine teams. Who was it?

• Tom Gordon
• Octavio Dotel
• Ron Villone
• Darren Oliver

Answer: Darren Oliver. The lefty had made two appearances as a September call-up the year before and was fighting to make the big league club in spring training. Facing a legend like Jordan added extra pressure, though.

“There obviously was so much buzz, and I’m not going to lie, I was nervous a little bit,” Oliver recalled in a 2019 interview with the New York Post. “I wasn’t nervous about him getting a base hit, I was more nervous thinking, ‘Just don’t hit this guy.’ I didn’t want to be the guy who hit and hurt him, hurt his arm or his knee, stuff like that definitely came across my mind.”