Tyreek Hill Tries to Bait Bradley Chubb Into Clowning Russell Wilson
Bradley Chubb never played on a winning Denver Broncos team prior to being traded to the Miami Dolphins, but during the tail end of his tenure, he got to see Russell Wilson at work. What really stood out to Chubb was the professionalism the nine-time Pro Bowler showed when faced with constant criticism and unwelcome prying eyes into his personal affairs.
Chubb detailed his perception of Wilson and how things went down last year before he was traded during an appearance on the Tyreek Hill's podcast. Hill, who is now a teammate in Miami after years of being a rival in Kansas City, tried to goad Chubb into piling onto Wilson with a comment about the QB's cringy 'Broncos Country, let's ride' catchphrase last year.
But he didn't take the bait.
"[Russell Wilson] gets so much flak but it's crazy because he does the absolute most that he can possibly do to make sure he's the best he can possibly be. He doesn't miss a step, so when he has a fluke year like this, he's just got to chalk it up. You had a bad year, but it gets so glorified because of who he is, who he's been, [and] what he's done. So he's got to look at it as like a nod to who you are as a person too. 'Alright. I'm such on this pedestal that everyone wants to knock me down.' And that's how it is with him. All the different allegations and all that. Everybody talking about his [personal] life—he's just got to sit there and take it. I kind of watched him do that, and it was dope to see how he stayed the same person throughout it all. It was unfortunate that we just couldn't reach the potential that we all thought we was going to be."
As Chubb's Dolphins try to climb into the ranks of the NFL's genuine contenders, the Broncos hope they can do the same with their new head coach and retooled roster. Chubb's belief in Wilson's ability to ride out the storm will be only slightly reassuring to fans. Only time will tell whether he's able to translate that football stoicism back into a winning product on the field.
The Chubb trade last year left a massive void on the Broncos' defense. With the trade coinciding with Randy Gregory's knee injury that cost him nearly half the season, the Broncos struggled massively to pressure the quarterback after Chubb was dealt away.
However, last week, the Broncos signed veteran pass rusher Frank Clark in hopes of bolstering the pass rush for defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. The Clark signing solidifies the Broncos' edge rushing corps and was deemed necessary by head coach Sean Payton.
The seeds of Denver retooling the edge group can be traced back to the front office's decisions to trade Von Miller in 2021 and Chubb last year. At one point in time, the Miller/Chubb duo was expected to provide pressure on quarterbacks in Denver for years to come.
Chubb will forever be associated with former GM John Elway's draft day decision to pass on superstar quarterback Josh Allen, who was instead drafted by the Buffalo Bills, but history might view the issue differently if Payton turns the Broncos' ship around.
The first-round draft pick the Broncos received from the Miami Dolphins in exchange for Chubb was subsequently parlayed into securing Payton's coveted coaching skills from the New Orleans Saints.
As Chubb settles into his first offseason program with the Dolphins, his whirlwind experience at last season’s deadline still appears to be fresh in his mind, as he detailed the day of the trade on Hill's show.
"The day of the trade was crazy. We had just came back from London [and] we won so I was like, 'Okay, I might stay. We're back on the winning track. I might stay.' We won, so then boom, Monday goes around, nobody says nothing to me. We go in there and work out. Alright, it's cool. Trade deadline, Tuesday at 2 pm. So we go in Tuesday and work out and everybody's cool and all that. I go to the crib with my girl. I'm like, 'Babe, my head's kind of all over the place, let's just go get some food. I don't even want to think about this.' There's an hour until [the trade deadline] comes up. We get in the car and start driving, and George Paton's [number] comes up. I look at her, she looked at me. I pulled over to this side and answered the phone, and he was like, 'We're trading you. We appreciate everything you've done. This brings me sick to my stomach.' In my head, after he said 'we're trading you,' everything else kind of went void. Turned around and went back to the house to start packing the house up. All my dawgs came over and I was off to Miami. Crazy how it just works like that."
Chubb is experienced enough to understand that there's no point in dwelling on the past. However, the business of football is often cruel and unfeeling.
"They're always going to do what's best for them. They felt that they were better without me, so that's how I've got to approach everything and make sure nobody else feels like that ever again."
Broncos fans, no doubt, wish Chubb the best in Miami. While it might hurt to see him chasing quarterbacks in Dolphins colors, it's important to remember that without that trade, Denver wouldn't have had the means to acquire Payton's rights from the Saints.
Which is more crucial to a team's success? A young pass rusher or the right head coach?
The answer is self-evident but while hopes are high, it remains to be seen whether Payton was ultimately the 'right' head coach to lead the Broncos out of the NFL doldrums.
Follow Mile High Huddle on Twitter and Facebook.
Subscribe to Mile High Huddle on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!
