Broncos HC Sean Payton Sounds Off on Russell Wilson Joining New Team

Russell Wilson has been in the Denver Broncos' rear-view for over a year now. Then again, as the Broncos work to balance the $85 million dead-money hit to the salary cap incurred by releasing Wilson, roughly a third of which counts toward the 2025 cap, perhaps Wilson's specter has yet to be fully exorcised in the Mile High City.

After playing one year with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Wilson recently joined the New York Giants. Much like his Pittsburgh experience with Justin Fields, Wilson will have to compete for the starting job in the Big Apple — this time with Jameis Winston, who also signed with the Giants only a few days prior.

Wilson and Winston are two quarterbacks Broncos head coach Sean Payton knows well. At the NFL owners meetings on Monday, Payton reminisced about his time coaching both signal-callers, one in Denver and the other in New Orleans.

“Both of those guys, honestly [I] had good experiences, obviously, in working with them. They’re different types of players and personalities," Payton said of Wilson and Winston. "That’ll be interesting. Obviously, Jameis is someone who is infectious. A lot of times, you hear him before you see him. That’s not a bad thing. And Russ is someone who’s internally driven, someone who you see the work ethic. I think it will be a good room.”

Winston is more of a loud, gregarious quarterback. Wilson brands himself as a leader, but he's not much of a rah-rah guy.

Winston is. Wilson's very much an introvert and seeks to always be emotionally "neutral," no matter if he just tossed a touchdown pass or an interception. But in Payton's estimation, both quarterbacks are very passionate about what they do.

“I think they’re passionate about playing," Payton said of the two Giants quarterbacks. "I think they’re very passionate workers about playing. I would say they’re football-driven, and I think that’s important.”

Some in Broncos Country might question whether Wilson is truly "football-driven" or Russ-driven. However, as awkward and painful as his two-year tenure in Denver was, he was the target of unnecessary media antipathy. By the time Payton benched him in 2023, Russ had become a national lampoon.

The Wilson trade was one of the most lopsided in recent NFL history. The Broncos gave up multiple first and second-round draft picks and three starters in exchange for Wilson, who also wanted (and was given) a quarter-billion-dollar contract extension before he'd ever played a down in Denver.

For their considerable draft, personnel, and financial investment, the Broncos received just 12 wins over two years by way of a return on Wilson. That's why he exited the Mile High City on a wave of vitriol and ignominy, and it explains why so many in the national media mercilessly lampooned him for two years, unfair though much of it was.

Payton gave it the old college try with Wilson as his quarterback, and while many of the veteran signal-caller's statistics improved, he wasn't a fit for the head coach's style of offense. Despite this, Payton still won eight games in 2023, seven with Wilson and one with Jarrett Stidham.

That was a three-win improvement over the previous year's total under the historically bad Nathaniel Hackett regime. With Russ jettisoned, Payton hand-picked Bo Nix to be his quarterback by way of the first round of the NFL draft, and the Broncos improved on 2023's eight wins by two games.

The 10-7 Broncos made the playoffs as a Wildcard team, though they were bounced immediately by the Buffalo Bills. But the success Payton had out of the gates with Nix vindicated his (at the time) controversial decision to bench and subsequently release Wilson. Wilson's name can now be found buried deep in the dustbin of Broncos history.

The future hasn't looked brighter in Denver with Payton and Nix set to lead the Broncos into 2025 and beyond. Meanwhile, Wilson enters his age-37 season as a veteran quarterback mercenary relegated to taking one-year deals in the fourth wave of NFL free agency.

Wilson's marquee days may be in the books, but we wish him well in his coming competition with Winston for the Giants' starting quarterback job.