The Russell Wilson experiment is about to officially end for the Denver Broncos — mercifully.
After missing the playoffs in two seasons with him, they’re set to release him once the new NFL league year begins next week, but they are only starting to clean up the mess they made by trading for him in the first place.
ESPN’s Mike Greenberg said the Broncos committed “organizational malpractice” by not making the right moves in conjunction with trading for Wilson in order to become a contender, per ESPN Radio.
“The Broncos…deserve to SUCK for having done this.”@Espngreeny goes OFF on Denver for their “organizational malpractice” 😳 https://t.co/6sBjI9NcBN pic.twitter.com/z3TNdRQyHM
— ESPN Radio (@ESPNRadio) March 5, 2024
When the Broncos acquired Wilson two years ago, some thought they would be Super Bowl contenders, but a closer look, even at the time, revealed they weren’t quite ready for primetime.
They hired Nathaniel Hackett, who had been an excellent offensive coordinator with the Green Bay Packers, to be their head coach, and Hackett didn’t quite measure up.
Denver had a historically bad offense in 2022, which resulted in a disastrous season that saw them win just five games and resulted in Hackett getting fired before the end of the year.
They went out and made a big splash last season by hiring Sean Payton, who coached Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints to a Super Bowl championship, but he wasn’t a good fit either.
Payton made it clear he wasn’t in love with Wilson, and his offense wasn’t the best fit for Wilson, who prefers a read-option system.
The worst part of the Wilson fiasco is the fact that Denver traded five draft picks and three players to get him, and they compounded that by instantly giving him a huge new contract.
They will still have a boatload of dead cap space once Wilson is officially released, which will hamper their efforts to rebuild.
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