LAS VEGAS — Russell Wilson sat on his chair facing his locker, his body slumped so that his elbows were on his knees.
His head down for several minutes, his mind seemingly in deep thought. His white game jersey and white pants were unusually store-front clean.
He was the picture of dejection.
Much ballyhooed as the franchise savior when he was acquired from Seattle in a trade just 21 months earlier, Wilson did not play one snap in the final two games of the Broncos’ season, unquestionably the final two games of his disappointing term in Denver.
He will finish with an 11-19 record as Denver’s starting quarterback. He will also finish with some decent stats -- 42 touchdown passes against 19 interceptions for a 90.9 rating. He will have made a staggering $124 million over two years in Denver, but we have come to know Wilson well enough to realize what he really wanted was more fourth-quarter comebacks, more wins, a championship or two and a nice legacy.
But he did not fit well with coach Sean Payton’s offense, for whatever the reasons.
And so Wilson is finished with the Broncos.
That depressing realization seemed to hit him as he was sitting at his locker. Because he has a no-trade contract, the expectation is he will be released by mid-March.
And the Broncos will be in the market(s) for a quarterback once again. Russ or no Russ, Russ or Jarrett Stidham, the Broncos ranked 19th in the league with a meager 21.0 points per game.
That’s better than the No. 32 ranking and 16.9 points per game last season. And 21 points is the most by a Broncos team since their Super Bowl 50 season of 2015. But it’s nowhere near all those top 10 scoring units Payton had in his previous coaching stint with New Orleans.
“That’s where we’re moving, it just doesn’t – there’s a lot that goes into that,’’ Payton said. “I would say it’s our offense and it evolves and I’ve told you guys we’ve had different quarterbacks playing, we’ve had different running backs over the years and part of our job is to build our offense around the ingredients that are in the building and we’ll continue to do that.”
Could Jeudy be traded?
The Broncos listened to, but didn’t execute, trade offers made for receiver Jerry Jeudy both last offseason, and during the trading deadline in late-October. Will they listen again in March and this time move the receiver who has averaged 53 catches, 763 yards and three touchdowns through his first four seasons in Denver – and is scheduled to make a fully guaranteed $12.987 million in 2024?
"I don't care about any of that,'' Jeudy said. "I know me, I'm a baller. And I'm going to keep on with whatever happens.''
Broncos 2024 free agents
The first decisions made by the Broncos this offseason will be to decide which of their own free-agent players they need to re-sign. It’s a significant group led by inside linebacker Josey Jewell, center Lloyd Cushenberry III, kicker Wil Lutz, tight end Adam Trautman, defensive tackle Mike Purcell and safety P.J. Locke.
Bronco Bits
In his comeback season from ACL surgery, Javonte Williams led the Broncos in rushing with 774 yards but on just 3.6 yards per carry. …
Alex Singleton had another 13 tackles to lead the Denver defense. He finished with a 175 tackles on the season, the most by a Bronco since at least the 1991 season. …
Jewell, Nik Bonitto and Baron Browning each had a sack in the final game against the Raiders. Jewell finished with 4.5 sacks, an impressive total for an inside linebacker. Bonitto wound up with 8.0 sacks, just behind Jonathon Cooper’s team-leading 8.5.
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