Russell Wilson Cut; Could Commanders Sign?

The Washington Commanders are one team being named as a potential landing spot for soon-to-be free-agent quarterback Russell Wilson.

When quarterback Russell Wilson was being traded from the Seattle Seahawks in 2022 the Washington Commanders were one of the teams vying for his services. 

Two years later, Wilson is going to be a free agent, and now many are wondering if the Commanders will or even should be interested in him again. 

Wilson coming to Washington this time around would cost the franchise much less than it would have had to pay the Seahawks in 2022 because the Denver Broncos who won the race two years ago are now planning on releasing the veteran quarterback after the start of the new league year.

The Washington Commanders are ranked 6th in odds of bringing soon-to-be free-agent quarterback Russell Wilson to the franchise / NFL Analysis

"We spoke with Russell Wilson today to inform him of his release after the start of the league year," Broncos general manager George Paton and coach Sean Payton said in a joint statement.

With his release imminent, Brandon Marshall of the IAMATHLETE podcast posted a ranking of teams that will potentially add Wilson to their roster this offseason with the Commanders coming in No. 6 behind the Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders, and Minnesota Vikings.

March 13th at 4 p.m. ET is when the new league year begins for the NFL, and as early as 4:01 p.m. ET, Wilson will be a free agent. 

But he isn't leaving Denver empty-handed, as the team will have to pay Wilson all of the guarantees he agreed to with it when the trade from Seattle was finalized. A deal that extended beyond his pre-existing contract with the Seahawks, and was only just set to begin in 2024.

With that money in hand, many expect Wilson to cost much less than he would otherwise, and that gives a team like the Commanders more incentive to sign a quarterback who was among the 10 best in both touchdown and interception percentage and in passer rating in the NFL last season.

In 2023, Wilson also achieved the third-best completion percentage of his career.

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His time with the Broncos wasn't without its ups and downs, and certainly, he'll have to carry his own amount of blame for the experience falling short of expectations, but there's still gas in the tank for a man who just two years ago the Philadelphia Eagles appeared primed to move on from Jalen Hurts for.

Will Washington be the team to give him a second new start to his career? Only time will tell, but that clock is a timer, not a stopwatch, and it's set to expire next week.