Payton Confirms Broncos Will Play QB Russell Wilson in the Preseason

Denver Broncos fans won't have to wait until September to see Russell Wilson suited up and on the field.

True to his word, head coach Sean Payton confirmed on Saturday that the Denver Broncos veterans will play in the preseason. That starts on August 11 vs. the Arizona Cardinals, and yes, it includes veteran quarterback Russell Wilson. 

“Yeah, I haven’t shelled it out yet, but they’re going to play. We’ll figure out how many snaps," Payton said. 

“That would include [QB Russell Wilson]—he’s a player.”

Payton's ethos converges widely with that of his predecessor Nathaniel Hackett, who kept Wilson and Denver's starters sidelined until the regular-season opener, at which point, it quickly became clear that the players the Broncos would rely on weren't acclimated to the rigors of the NFL. 

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An epidemic of injuries would go on to befall the Broncos, while the offense, in particular, seemed to be the worst off in terms of not playing the preseason, as Wilson and company took agonizingly long to showcase even a modicum of chemistry. 

Payton is an acolyte of Hall-of-Fame head coach Bill Parcells. Payton is old school in that sense, and he won't make the same mistake Hackett did, though the new Broncos head coach isn't sure exactly how much the vets will play in the preseason. 

"We typically break a game into three phases—first, second, third phase—and then special teams, we might just do two phases, but we’ll have a plan, especially as we get into next week," Payton said. "I’ve got a few notes written down. I don’t have a pitch count. I don’t have an exclusion list if someone’s got a light injury that we back—but we can expect our guys play a little bit.”

On Saturday — the 10th practice of training camp — Wilson and the offense began to eat out of the defense's bowl finally, making some big plays and having some success in Payton's two-minute drills at the end of Saturday's action. While that was encouraging, it only hammers home the reality that Wilson and his offensive teammates need as many reps together in Payton's new scheme as they can get before the season opener. 

Preseason games don't count, but that doesn't make them meaningless. Broncos Country will have some extra reason to tune into this summer's exhibition games with the knowledge that the first-team players will be suiting up and taking the field. 

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