The Denver Broncos are not a good football team, currently sitting at 1-4 with their only win coming over the also 1-4 Chicago Bears. Coming into the season, the first under head coach Sean Payton, the belief was things would be different.
That hasn’t been the case, and with the NFL trade deadline not too far out, the rumors swirling around the Mile High City, are team ownership could be looking to have a fire sale.
That may be true, because last week the team traded edge rusher Randy Gregory to the San Francisco 49ers for a seventh-round pick. Moving Gregory was a sign that no one may be safe with the team struggling, Gregory was a key free agent signing in 2022, and he didn’t last two seasons. While Gregory might have been the first domino to fall, ESPN NFL analyst Marcus Spears says he’s just the beginning, and that includes star quarterback Russell Wilson.
Could Wilson Be On The Move?
During Wednesday’s episode of ESPN’s “Get Up,” Spears didn’t hold back on what he believes will happen as things continue crater in Denver.
“I don’t think Russ is the problem at all in Denver, but when you got everything going bad, the first guy that they go to Is whoever they can get the most compensation for to try to build under Payton’s image,” Spears said. “I’m just giving a scenario. … They could want to wipe the slate clean with new ownership and the new head coach and start over.”
Spears insisted that moving on from Russ is the quickest way to rebuild the roster using the assets he’d bring in return.
“I think they’re gonna start with Russell Wilson, which is unfortunate, which I don’t think is smart. … I’m sure if we start to see the team go 1-5, 1-6, 1-7, and they don’t have a successful year, it’s feasible to think about the potential of Wilson being traded and them just wiping the whole thing out,” he added.
Wilson Has Been Better Than Last Year, But It Hasn’t Turned Into Wins
In Wilson’s first season with the Broncos he passed for a career-low 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Wilson went 4-11 as the team’s starter, and head coach Nathaniel Hackett was fired after just 15 games. Wilson’s been much better this season under Payton, passing for 1,210 yards, 11 touchdowns and just two interceptions through five games. But, as we saw during last week’s loss to the Jets, Payton wasn’t too particularly happy with Wilson’s late-game strip fumble that was returned for a touchdown with the game hanging in the balance.
As Wilson came off the field, Payton let him know about it. Wilson, while a likely Hall of Famer, isn’t Payton’s quarterback, and although he’s making a huge salary, moving would expedite a Broncos rebuild.
There are a lot of QB-needy teams that would probably love to have RW3, but are they willing to give up the assets and pay Russ the bag he’s currently receiving?
Only time will tell.
