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Russell Wilson won’t play a single snap on the five-year extension the Broncos signed him to, with the team announcing his release on Monday afternoon. Acquiring Wilson will probably go down in NFL history as the worst trade of all time (Deshaun Watson pending), but Wilson’s next stop actually offers a lot of intrigue and upside because of the Broncos mistake.
Which, make no bones about it, was an abject disaster. At the time some people thought Denver actually won the deal, so it’s not like this was a clearly idiotic move in the moment. The Broncos gave up a HAUL in the swap for Wilson, handing the Seahawks the ninth (left tackle Charles Cross), 40th (pass rusher Boye Mafe) and 145th picks (traded out for a pair of picks) in 2022 and the fifth (rookie Pro Bowl corner Devon Witherspoon) and 37th (defender Derick Hall) picks in the 2023 draft. Denver also gave up Drew Lock, Noah Fant and Shelby Harris as part of the trade and handed Russell more than $124 million in cash.
Depending on whether or not they designate Wilson a post-June 1 cut, the Broncos may obliterate the NFL record for largest dead cap hit in 2024. If they decide to take Russ’ hit in one lump sum, they would have an $85 million (!!) dead cap hit in 2024, more than the sum of the next two largest dead cap hits in NFL history.
The only beneficial thing to emerge from the Wilson trade is the extremely public deterioration of the relationship with Broncos coach Sean Payton. Spite is a beautiful thing.
Trading for Wilson came on the heels of the Bucs acquiring Tom Brady (and winning the Super Bowl) and the Rams trading for Matthew Stafford (and winning the Super Bowl). The Broncos Super Bowl odds closed under 20-1 before the 2022 season and the offense was so lethargic Denver won five games and everyone got fired.
Wilson did bounce back last year in Payton’s offense, but it’s clear the Broncos wanted to go in a…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/russell-wilson-offers-surprising-contractual-upside-in-nfl-free-agency-despite-broncos-trade-being-worst-ever/
Author : Will Brinson
Publish date : 2024-03-05 14:44:16
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