Rob Gronkowski delivers stunning take on Broncos benching Russell Wilson - "He isn't the leader they were looking for"
The relationship between Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos seems to be getting to the end. On Wednesday, it was announced that Jarrett Stidham will be the starter for the remainder of two weeks, officially putting the former superstar quarterback on the bench.
Russell Wilson's trade has been a massive failure for the Broncos, who traded multiple assets to the Seattle Seahawks in order to get the quarterback, but never got anything close to his production in his previous team. To former tight end Rob Gronkowski, who played with Tom Brady throughout his entire career and knows what leadership looks like, Wilson was never the guy to lead Sean Payton's team:
I don't think Wilson is his (Sean Payton's) guy, Obviously, if they can get out of his contract and get away from paying him next year, I'm not really sure how it works, or the year after, they're going to do that. They're going to move on and they're going to get strategic about this situation in order to move on where it doesn't hurt them financially...Russell Wilson isn't the leader they were looking for, and I can see Russell on a new team next year
Russell Wilson's contract: How much is he earning?
The quarterback is in the middle of a five-year, $242.5 million contract with the Denver Broncos. He extended his deal after he was traded from the Seattle Seahawks.
Russell Wilson has earned the most money out of all Broncos players in 2023, with $28M in cash paid over the course of the year. His salary for next season is fully guaranteed at signing as well, which will be a huge problem for trade purposes in 2024.
There's no way he was going to get away with poor performances with Sean Payton now at the helm. Given how much the Denver Broncos invested to build this partnership, they definitely needed the coach and quarterback to make it work together, but it wasn't to be. The deal with the Seahawks was a massive failure, and they'll need a lot of luck to find a new quarterback for 2024.