Retired Broncos legend suggests team was too naive to handle Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson's time with the Denver Broncos was short and unhappy. The quarterback, who was supposed to be the savior of the franchise, spent two seasons and ended with a losing record in both. The offense stuttered, and the Broncos failed to make the playoffs in either year.
Shannon Sharpe, who represented the Broncos with distinction and won a couple of Super Bowls with them, has explained why he knew it was a bad pairing from the outset. He put the blame squarely on the way Denver coddled Russell Wilson and also slammed the quarterback for not having the right attitude.
The Hall-of-Fame tight end said that the former Seahawks quarterback wanted everything that he could not get in Seattle when he came to Denver. And the Broncos were willing to humor him, at their detriment, according to him, because they had not had a quarterback of his caliber since Peyton Manning retired.
On First Take, Shannon Sharpe said:
"I thought Russ came with the wrong attitude. I think he wanted things that he never got in Seattle.
"Concessions that the Broncos made early on, because they hadn't had a quarterback of this caliber since Peyton Manning left. And so it maybe it was, unknown to them."
Shannon Sharpe unhappy with Russell Wilson's demands and Broncos' choice to accept them
Shannon Sharpe was particularly scathing of Russell Wilson asking favors that are not given to any other player while he was part of the Denver Broncos.
In his first year, he requested and received a separate office and he also had a parking spot to his name. The former tight end thought it was unbecoming from the quarterback and spoiled the hire from the very beginning.
He added:
"And they might have thought that this is what quarterbacks do, that they have an office in the building, that they able to come in a different entrance, and they able to get parking spots, x amount of parking spots at the stadium.
"I just don't think he ingratiated himself with the team that much. I thought it was a bad hire from the beginning."
Shannon Sharpe certainly has the credibility to say how the Denver Broncos should have gone about their business given his contributions to the franchise's history.
And it's clear from his remarks that he thinks that Russell Wilson was a problem from the very beginning. It remains to be seen, though, what comes next and if the Super Bowl-winning Hall-of-Famer will be happy with subsequent steps.