Broncos Super Bowl champion accuses Russell Wilson of 'messing up priorities' during failed Denver stint
The Russell Wilson era of the Denver Broncos went exactly the opposite of what both sides hoped for after the team acquired Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks in 2022. The Broncos went 13-21 in the two seasons Wilson was a member of the team and finished fourth and third respectively in the AFC West.
Former Broncos offensive lineman Mark Schlereth now sounded off on Wilson. He went back and forth with a Twitter user who was defending Wilson, which caused Schlereth to give his reasoning.
"Tim you have zero clue! If by sabotage you mean, he's not allowed to have an outside quarterback coach in the building and his own Team of assitance then yes Sean did sabotage him. But doesn't that kind of feel like a guy who puts himself ahead of the team. I've never heard of a QB having his private QB coach in the building."
Even before the 2023 season began, coach Sean Payton banned Wilson from having his personal QB coach, Jake Heaps, in the building.
Why did Denver get rid of Russell Wilson amid his big contract?
After Denver acquired Russell Wilson before the start of the 2022 season, they extended him on a five-year, $245 million contract. After just two seasons into the contract, the Broncos released Wilson this offseason.
With the release, Denver took an $85 million cap charge, plus $39 million in guaranteed money for 2024. So why did the Broncos release Wilson two years into his new deal?
Besides the fact that the Broncos weren't competing at a Super Bowl level, the team reportedly asked him to take a pay cut before the end of last season. He declined.
On March 4, the Broncos announced that Russell Wilson would be released at the start of the new season on March 13. Two days later, Wilson signed a one-year, $1.2 million deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers for a chance to become their starting quarterback for the 2024 season.
Wilson is competing with Justin Fields for the Steelers' starting quarterback job this season.