Sean Payton Predicted to Make Harsh Move With Russell Wilson

Is this how the 2023 story gets written for Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos?

The knives are out, people. Like vultures circling a wounded gazelle, Russell Wilson's haters are hovering in hopes the Denver Broncos quarterback completely implodes this season. 

While most credible NFL takes acknowledge the likelihood of Wilson's 2022 body of work being an aberration — an outlier — some seem to gleefully hope that it's the new status quo and that he's washed. One such talking head is former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum, now an ESPN analyst, who predicts that new Broncos head coach Sean Payton will bench Wilson at some point this season. 

“I would be shocked if Russell Wilson was the starter for 17 games this season,” he said on an episode of Get Up. 

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Because Tannenbaum has a tangential connection to Payton via the Bill Parcells coaching tree, NFL publications seem to take what he says about the Broncos' new operation as gospel. But that couldn't be farther from the truth. 

“The conversations that Sean Payton is having with ownership is, ‘Year 1 is about culture and accountability.’ He’s going to see Russell Wilson as an opportunity to hold players accountable,” Tannenbaum continued. “If Russell Wilson has the smallest bump in the road, he will be benched, and Sean’s going to look at it as an opportunity to set the culture and the standard moving forward.”

And what? Pass the baton to Jarrett Stidham, who's looked very much like an in-over-his-head quarterback thus far since arriving on a two-year, $10 million deal? Or maybe Tannenbaum likes Ben DiNucci's single-NFL-start experience. 

There's a distinct probability that guys like Tannenbaum have to eat crow on the Wilson subject this fall. It might take a generous slathering of Siracha to choke it down, but choke it down they will. 

If the Broncos' retooled offensive line can offer even league-average pass protection this season, Wilson will take flight under Payton's expert guiding hand. The Broncos' first preseason game was a bit of a shock that left many fans feeling anxious after Wilson finished as the most-pressured QB in the NFL that weekend. 

However, Payton stood at the podium two days later and said with confidence that the Broncos' protection lapses would be corrected — and sure enough, that's how it shook out in preseason Game 2 in San Francisco. And it's important to remember that the big-dollar free agent Mike McGlinchey wasn't on the field for either game as he works back from an injury. 

Meanwhile, when the pocket breaks down, or coverage dictates, the slimmed-down Wilson has shown already that he's back in full command of the footspeed and leg twitch that helped make him an elite, nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback and a World Champion. The arrow is definitely trending upwards for the Broncos' signal-caller. 

Even if you're down on Wilson's 2023 outlook because of last season, remember: the Broncos don't have a choice but to ride it out, due to the $245 million extension he was given last summer. The Broncos would have to eat north of $134 million in dead money — over the next two seasons alone — if they were to move on from Wilson. 

That's a big reason why Payton was hired. To salvage the quarter-billion-dollar investment the Walton/Penner ownership group sunk into Wilson. The Waltons are rich, but even they are slave to the NFL's salary-cap rules. 

Plus, the Broncos don't have anyone remotely plausible to supplant Wilson as the starter. Payton may have hand-picked Stidham in free agency, but he's a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option only. 

Stidham could help the Broncos get by for a game or two sans Russ, but it would be by the skin of his teeth. No, I'm sorry to break it to Tannenbaum, but Wilson is the singular most important player on this Broncos roster. 

Fans can only hope that Wilson stays healthy and doesn't get injured. He's not getting benched.

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