Denver Broncos Avoided FURTHER DISASTER With Russell Wilson’s Contract

Denver Broncos Avoided FURTHER DISASTER With Russell Wilson’s Contract

the Denver Broncos are in a great spot of building for their future but we’ll tell you how the almost Russell Wilson deal could have crippled the Broncos for many many years on today’s episode Locked on Broncos you are Locked on Broncos your daily Denver Broncos podcast part of the Locked On Network your team every day what’s up Broncos country welcome into another episode of Lockdown Broncos your daily Denver Broncos podcast part of the Lockdown Podcast Network your team everyday thank you so much to all the everydayers out there in Broncos country thanks for tuning in making us your first listen however you choose to do so and if you’re a brand new viewer listener to the show become an everyday hit that subscribe that follow button and you’ll never miss out on what’s going on with your favorite team i’m Cody Ro Broncos reporter for mile high sports and I’m Sarah Bettinger site expert at predominantly orange.com and here’s what you’re going to get on today’s episode of the show broncos country we’re all excited about the direction that this team is heading they’re building for the future they have everything that they need but we’ll tell you how the Russell Wilson almost deal that he was proposing could have crippled the Broncos for more years than what they ran into initially in the last couple of seasons here plus we’ll tell you why now the Broncos are in a great position for the future and why the recent draft classes here for Shawn Payeyton they could be responsible for helping shaping the future direction of this organization we’ll look at all that on today’s episode of the show sarah uh let’s get into obviously the bombshell kind of news now look obviously we are two years removed from the Broncos moving on from Russell Wilson we knew that in year one of moving on from him they ate the largest portion of that dead cap which was $55 million we know that they’re going to eat the final $32 million this upcoming season but thinking about maybe the numbers that could have been those numbers could have been bigger if Russell Wilson initially got the contract extension that he wanted uh we just found out the NFL the NFL PA there was a a court hearing about some potential collusion that was going on greg Penner I think testified i think Russell Wilson testified here come to find out the details Russell Wilson almost got a contract deal that was bigger than Deshun Watson’s and Deshun Watson’s deal was unprecedented and almost remained unprecedented for a few years there until Josh Allen finally beat that with his 250 million in guaranteed money from the Buffalo Bills at the time Cody 230 million on a fully guaranteed contract for Deshun Watson it was a clear like the Browns doing something to get so because remember at the time Deshawn was going to go to like Atlanta or Carolina or one of those two places is the Browns were not even in the mix and then all of a sudden it’s like you signed a fully guaranteed $230 million deal so you throw that kind of a money on a fully guaranteed contract at a guy and then of course Russell Wilson who had one of the best 10-year stretches of any quarterback in modern football history of course he’s going to say “Well let’s why not go even bigger than that?” And I think that part of Russ’s situation here in asking for what he did which allegedly 7-year deal 350 million fully guaranteed that’s more than that’s 120 million more than what Deshawn Watson got cody I I think I’m a big subscriber you have not because you ask not so I don’t hate that he made the ask and I think that Russ obviously you know he foresaw and his agency foresaw the market for quarterbacks getting to that level eventually but man uh can you imagine the Broncos being in that kind of a situation that is absolutely bonkers for that time in particular that would have been a not just a historic deal for the NFL it would have blown every historic deal out of the water well I mean the asking price there seven years that’s crazy that’s a wild astronomical deal here and I think when you look at the context of it you know you’re grateful the Broncos didn’t do that ultimately they landed on what was a fiveyear $245 million deal that really Russ never really actually even got to the point of his contract correct he had two years left on his original deal he actually never got to that point with the Denver Broncos which I found to be a little interesting here but let’s go into the details here of this court document because it has definitely brought up I think some old wounds some old scabs here from the Broncos side now obviously Greg Penner the team’s owner and obviously the day-to-day controlling CEO of the franchise he was not in position yet right the Broncos had not yet been approved like the ownership transition deal with the Walter Penner Family ownership group had not been approved just yet but he was being brought up to speed on a lot of the ongoing developments right because the Broncos was back in April before everything had gone on they had made the trade there for Russell Wilson i I think it’s important right let’s look at what the court documents say it says here that Greg Penner obviously the team CEO asked the question and was a little skeptical on giving a deal early on saying two years left on the deal why not wait that’s a guy who has not been in an NFL franchise yet i think that’s a very logical and valid question for him to ask at that point why not wait and certainly you know you would have hoped the Broncos would have waited but here’s the issue that you run into while it stated that in the court document that he said “Why not wait?” It also acknowledges in that same document there that Penner also understood the rationale of getting a deal done because in the world of football Sarah what are you always up against on a year-to-year basis when you’re trying to figure out what you’re going to do for a contract extension it’s the everchanging market right and guys at the time that had yet to get a new deal that were in the market for it Justin Herbert Joe Burrow Lamar Jackson Josh Allen Kyler Murray these guys were in line to get these big deals and that would have changed the market that would have raised the price right deshawn Watson’s contract already kind of set this unprecedented okay this is what the quarterback market’s going to be well if Deshan’s getting that what are these guys going to get russ asking for that seven-year $350 million deal is wild to me and that would have ultimately crippled the Broncos i don’t know if they would have been able to move on from Russ if they had actually given him that deal the Broncos might be in a position now if they gave him that extension where they would not be able to make a move for probably three or four years at this point and that would have been a pain point the the this Broncos team would look entirely different right now because of that but I also want to bring it up to because this also brings up more questions people are like “Oh George Peyton what is he doing?” Greg Penner ultimately gave George Payeyton the green light to move ahead with the deal because I think some people are forgetting Russell Wilson had a no trade clause in his contract with the Seattle Seahawks there he initially waved it because Denver wasn’t even a team that was initially on the list right but he waved it as a sign of good faith for saying “Hey if I wave this I want a contract extension.” I think that gets lost in the shuffle of all of this yeah there’s there’s so many different factors and details with all of this like the Broncos to to say hey they would have been in this situation or that situation you you don’t have to look any further than the Cleveland Browns right now with what they’re dealing with with Deshun Watson and then it would be an even larger scale with the Denver Broncos so to me I think you obviously avoided disaster by actually having those negotiations and still giving Russ a fair market deal for the time obviously and giving him a lot of guaranteed money upfront and the Broncos did that and yes ultimately the ownership did give the green light on that and to to answer Greg Penner’s question this is how I imagine that conversation would go two years left on a contract why wait the answer to that question for somebody who’s not been in the football world but is obviously expert level in the business world is by two years from now that contract if he plays well is going to be astronomically higher and we’re going to have to pay a new market value and we’re going to have to overpay and we will wish we had gotten this deal done but also the Broncos were in such a weird position that offseason because you had the Aaron Rodgers drama the Nathaniel Hackett hire which was seemingly to get Rogers to come to Denver and then you pivoted to Russell Wilson right after Aaron decided to resign in Green Bay you make the trade for Russell Wilson and you get that deal done you get a franchise quarterback in the building somebody that you believe you can build around that’s something the Broncos had lacked since Super Bowl 50 it’s exactly what I think George Payeyton felt the team needed when he acquired or when he got the general manager role in 2021 and said this team’s a sleeping giant right so you bring in a quarterback that’s won a Super Bowl that’s been basically a guaranteed ticket to the playoffs for the Seahawks every single year and you just assume like this guy is the way that he works the the the things that we see on tape even even if he declines a little bit it’s going to be okay but I think we underestimated maybe the state of the roster at that point and and I guess certainly Nathaniel Hackett’s impact on that um and the one 123 Cancun type stuff going on it’s just really Cody highlights the fact that Russ was not the same as as what Pton Manning brought to the table in 2012 right that team was still young that team was inexperienced that team had barely done anything and yet at the same time the way that Payton operated when he came in I mean he made everybody better and he required that excellence out of everybody else i just it just wasn’t the same with Russ and so I’m glad the Broncos figured a way out of this mess now the fact that they got in it in the first place I I guess all well that ends well right now that you got Bicks in the building hindsight is always 2020 if there was a crystal ball that would have told the Broncos how things were going to go with Russell Wilson maybe they would have been a little bit more patient and maybe they wouldn’t have made that move here but their hands were also kind of tied in that situation and I think the Broncos ability to admit that hey you know we we flubbed on this and and we got to figure out a way to get out of it they they ate the 55 million they’re eating the final 32 though that 32 million is not really impacting them negatively right now it’ll be entirely off the books as the Broncos go into the 2026 off seasonason which where you look at the Broncos were at two years ago compared to now they’re in a much better spot here and we’ll tell you why the Broncos are now in a great position to build around this team and they are free of the Russell Wilson thing going into 2026 we’ll break that down much more here on today’s episode of the show Broncos country today’s episode of the show is brought to you by our friends over there at Monarch Money and if you ever wish managing your money felt easier I think we all do at times with Monarch Money it can be easier to manage your money and whether you’re growing your savings or you’re planning on a big purchase Monarch puts you in the driver’s seat it’s like having your own personal CFO giving you full visibility and control over your finances and Monarch Money is more than a budgeting app it’s a complete financial command center where you can track all of your accounts your investments and your spending in one place so in addition to managing your money you’re also building wealth one of the most surprising things I think to me Cody when I started finally getting stuff all into that one app is figuring out okay this is how much I’m spending each week on eating out this is how much I’m spending on just going to buy coffee for me and my wife every day and then subscriptions the things that you may not even use anymore that add up to more than you would ever expect that’s why you want to take control with your finances with Monarch Money use the code lockedNFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year that’s monarchmoney.com code lockdown NFL for half off your first year despite the fact that they had to climb out of a $90 million salary cap hole last year the Broncos are they’re pretty in a really good position to build for the future they’ve got a young core of players they’ve got a great coaching staff they have stable ownership now at this point it’s a far cry from where the team was at in 2022 when they initially hired Nathaniel Hackett and made the trade for Russell Wilson and Cody and I were going to talk about that on today’s episode locked on Broncos and Broncos country shout out to all of you who make us your first listen of the day every single day cody the Broncos are in a great position now compared to where they were at with the Russell Wilson deal i think we I think the majority of fans felt really good about the Russell Wilson era and how it was going to go i mean there were at the time George Payton said it that the roster was a sleeping giant you felt like there were aspects of that team that could really compete in the AFC West and certainly that didn’t happen they they were embarrassed that season as that’s not my words either that’s the ownership’s words remember after that Christmas Day game against the LA Rams they were embarrassed by that they fired Nathaniel Hackett before the end of his first season with the team i think now though you’re in a really good position where like you mentioned in the previous segment only 32 million left on that Russell Wilson deal on your salary cap for 2025 just gives you flexibility and Shawn Peyton acknowledged it at the end of last year that you know they were looking ahead they’re like yeah we know we’re going to have that $32 million of dead cap but that’s not going to impact how we’re going to operate and how we’re going to approach the you know free agency look what did Denver do they went out there and they they added two big pieces one at safety and Taleno Hufanga he got a pretty big deal dre Greenlaw got a pretty big deal you get Evan Ingram not on a big deal but you get him on a very team friendly but also beneficial deal I think for both sides at this juncture where they’re at and you have your draft capital going into the 2025 NFL draft and certainly that was a benefit because the Broncos it had been a while since they had that flexibility you know obviously going into 2024 when you had your draft capital you had your first first round pick in forever and you used it on Bo Nicks you were able to in return with both of those scenarios you’re able to find your franchise quarterback and and look we didn’t know that Bo was going to be the franchise guy just yet it was hey we hope he can be the guy you draft him 12th overall he goes out there and he proves without you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is the guy he’s the right pair here for Shawn Payeyton and this team going forward and all of a sudden it makes that oh no we have this $92 million in debt cap that we got to deal with here which is astronomical it was unbelievable and Denver was still able to go out there and win 10 games last season because of that all right now you have breathing room you have leeway you have the biggest question every franchise for the most part ask themselves do we have a franchise quarterback only a handful of teams can say yes we do because now everyone else is trying to figure out if they have that guy and luckily Denver’s not in that boat anymore which is nice to see but I I think the benefit here Sarah about how the Broncos are now in a great position to build for the future is because they have that question answered you have your quarterback that gives you an idea on how to build the rest of your team yeah and they’ve also hit on their draft picks over the last four their top draft picks anyways over the last four years whereas you can’t say that for a lot of teams teams either even teams that were picking you know multiple times in the top 50 overall the Broncos first round picks since George Payeyton took over or their top picks since he took over Pat Certan Nick Bonito Marvin Mims Bo Nicks and now Jade Baron um so far Cody the guys who have actually played that’s a four for four hit rate and you’re able to build around guys like that when you’re you find cornerstone pieces at different parts of the draft those are premium position players quarterback cornerback edge rusher and then obviously a wide receiver that we feel like Marvin could take that next step this coming year after exploding in the second half of last season so you get guys at premium positions with your top picks especially when it’s not in the first round that’s huge you also found players that can be cornerstone pieces in free agency at those premium positions like Mike McGllinchi at offensive tackle Zack Allen on the interior defensive line and then you add complimentary pieces hitting in the draft at other spots right so there’s aspects of this whole thing that’s like okay yeah it’s it’d be so easy to look at George Payton’s mistakes as a general manager the Russell Wilson deal the hiring of Nathaniel Hackett signing Randy Gregory in free agency you could look at those sorts of things and say “Man he he’s really set this team back but simultaneously then you have all these other things like his hit rate in the draft and bringing in the right free agents and say that Shawn Payeyton’s the reason for that all you want those guys work together well and the the fact that they’ve gotten out of this hole it’s not just because of Bo Nicks but he’s obviously probably the biggest catalyst for that i even think finding undrafted rookie free agents that can have an impact on your team have been big for this team as well over the last handful of years George Payton included but you know I would say even George you mentioned finding some of those other you know mid to late round draft pieces i mean look at where the Broncos they found a cornerstone player at the end of round number three in 2021 in Quinn Miners right obviously you can make the argument he’s one of the best offensive linemen right now in the National Football League finding those pieces and hitting on that in my opinion what George Payton has done the hits that he has made have significantly outweighed his flaws or his flops or misses there the hackathire the Russell Wilson trade you name it those things right there are the big marks against him but I think that George has done more than enough to you know while you acknowledge those mistakes they don’t even shed in comparison I think to what George and Shawn combined have done to make this team I think a team that everyone’s talking about right now and I think they’re in a great position here going forward they have the foundation i think also the scouting department too which George Payton helps assemble that scouting department i mean you look at what has happened here this off season of Denver’s front office losing several major key pieces that’s a testament to you know the staff that George Payton initially built here in Denver the way that they’ve transformed it and now the way they’re continuing to evolve it by adding co-directors and and being able to build that out because you want to have a I’d say an organizational structure where if you lose a guy you could promote from within and you’re not going to get drop off you you know you have guys that you trust of course the Broncos brought in two outside names here to the front office structure but that’s guys that you know one guy has former familiarity with you the other guy is you know was longly tenered with the New England Patriots and is a guy that is a rising star in this industry who gets a promotion in Denver so I think all those things considered the Broncos have I think the roster the coaching staff the front office structure and a scouting department that will put them on a track I think to compete for the next handful of years and they really have to maximize this as well especially with Bo Nicks on a rookie contract right now you have that franchise QB in place now you have to figure out how to build this team the right way around him i think that Denver’s got the foundation there and we’re going to see in 2026 I think a new approach that we haven’t seen from them just yet with Shawn Peyton and George Peyton where I think they’ll be ultra aggressive this upcoming season but 2025 still has to be played and we’re excited to see how everything all plays out here but Broncos country part of that success on the field here this upcoming season I think will be contingent upon how these recent draft classes in Shawn Peyton and George Payeyton’s mind will shape the future of this team we’ll discuss that here on today’s episode of the show today’s episode with Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by friends over there at RouiT and guys you’ve probably heard of Viagra or Seialis maybe you’ve even tried them but if you’re looking for something beyond the usual pill it’s time to meet Rouiiet Ready rouiiet Ready is a next-gen prescription treatment that’s designed to amplify arousal in the brain and boost blood flow unlike the usual pills that can take hours Roui’s threein-one formula dissolves underneath your tongue and kicks in fast on average in 15 minutes effects can 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agency but George Payton Shawn Payeyton they feel strong about the last two draft classes that the team has had and even in Shawn Peyton’s first year as a head coach there’s some players who are rising up in that draft class even though the Denver had limited capital in those years how are the recent draft classes helping shape the future of this franchise we’ll discuss it here on today’s episode of the show there i feel like we’d be remissed if we don’t start about start talking about Shawn Peyton’s first draft class here with the Denver Broncos right year one you come in you have Russell Wilson as your quarterback you don’t have a first round pick you don’t have a second round pick you only have a third round pick and some limited picks in between there it limits your approach as to what you can do but we saw the Broncos trade up back into round number two in 2023 to get Marvin Mims a speedy playmaker as we all know in his first two seasons an allp pro return artist and a guy who is an absolute weapon at wide receiver that can be used can be a dangerous chess piece for you there’s he Drew Sanders in line for a little bit more run this upcoming season shawn and George believe that these recent draft classes can help shape their future how can they do that with this 2023 class specifically well you we’ve talked about Riley Moss quite a bit over the last couple of weeks here on the show and I think he’s one of those players that if he takes that next step in his career and becomes more of a ball hawk out there which we saw at Iowa he was one of the best in the nation at in terms of creating takeaways for that defense if he can do more of that in Denver Cody he’s going to take this defense to another level so I think he’s huge we talked about Marvin Mims taking the next step as well in the offense after the trade deadline last year dude was awesome and he was consistent on a week-to-eek basis and the Broncos finally found ways to get the ball in his hands and let him make plays and build his confidence what does Shawn Peyton say all the time confidence is born from demonstrated ability or something like that right and so they get these guys the ability to demonstrate their ability that’s the key in year three for Drew Sanders because he has not been able to demonstrate his ability he went from being an offball linebacker to switching to the edge and switching back to the offball linebacker position and now we don’t know is he going to even play is Alex Singleton going to start ahead of him justin Cernad who’s going to play next to Dre Greenaw it’s his opportunity this year he’s that wild card to me that if he steps up and becomes something that Denver defense now all of a sudden takes on a completely different complexion because of what he brings to the table as what the Broncos say a pressure player well let’s go to 2024 now and this is the one where I I think we look at the immediate contributions i think we look at the biggest question being can Bon Knicks be a franchise guy he proved that he answered that as a rookie year but it was what Shawn Payeyton said to Greg Penner and what Shawn Peyton revealed that he said to him initially he said years down the road when we look back this 2024 draft class is going to be the the reason why that I think is like for Shawn to say that is a level of excitement right because Sean’s not a guy who normally goes out there and puts out hyperbole you know he really believes in letting the guys work letting the work speak for itself not putting out bolt material i don’t think this is bulletin board material i just think that Sean looks at this saying “Hey we have the right pieces here with this group with the guys that we have on this roster already but these guys are going to come in and they’re going to be the reason why we take that next step.” You look at that I think it’s very prevalent with that class led by Bo Nicks and then followed closely behind by Jonah Ellis who you and I both talked about recently he could be one of those sleeper guys on this team to take a next step that not a lot of folks are talking about right now and be more than just an asset in the rotation but actually be a factor for this team in terms of a a not just situational pass rusher but somebody who’s actually making a consistent week- toeek impact i think he’s one of those guys troy Franklin as well we heard a lot of great things about him this off seasonason Cody and I know you saw him out there shawn Payeyton said that he’s making a lot more explosive plays than even the media was seeing at their pra at the practices available to them so I you had Devon Vele into the mix and we know we have other wild cards from that class as well that could be really fascinating for this team it just feels like that is the the class that’s going to be the mark of man we’re going to look back years from now and say that was the group that really helped turn things around for the franchise they made it to the playoffs their rookie season and then from that point on they established themselves in the AFC West well now you look at the 2025 class and look I think this year the Broncos they’re in a position to pick based on luxury they didn’t necessarily need to draft by need i think LA you know in 2024 the biggest need was quarterback and the Broncos obviously drafted that with Bo Knicks they drafted a guy they thought was there but I think the 2025 class you look at it I think their first three premier picks in the top 100 I feel like these are the guys that’ll probably be the foundational pieces of 2025’s class and I’d say in the years ahead to come and that’s obviously Jade Baron at the cornerback position RJ Harvey at running back expectations for both of these guys are high pat Bryant as your third round pick where Pat really he’s kind of this under the radar guy that is generating a little bit of buzz here going into training camp because of what we saw from him in the offseason program dating back to rookie mini camp OTAA’s mandatory mini camp he is a player who consistently stood out on a day-to-day basis as a route runner reliable hands and a guy who got more volume when Devon was not there for mandatory mini camp so I look at these three guys right here and say okay from the 2025 class like Denver they drafted they didn’t necessarily have to go out there and draft starters but it’s like Denver coming into the draft they had arguably all of their starters in place minus running back right i think that was the one position where it’s like ah you don’t know who a clear starter is here rj Harvey certainly could be that i look at all these guys they’re great additions to an already young and solid team that has a lot of playmakers and potential already yeah you look at the selections they made in 2025 other than RJ Harvey at running back I think you could argue man they really just they went with the strategy and approach of let’s strengthen a strength like with the Jade Baron pick he strengthened arguably already the biggest strength unit on the team at quarterback where they were so deep especially after Chris Abrams drains stepped up late last season then you get Pat Bryant who Shawn Peyton said early in the offseason right i I don’t think wide receiver is as much of a need as a lot of you are saying you know and he believed in these young guys and then you add another young player to the mix and then how about Savon Jones i think probably the one guy that not the least talked about rookie from this year’s class I would say Cody in terms of at least you and I are both really tapped into Broncos country i don’t hardly see anything about Savon Jones and that’s not to say that he’s not a good prospect but another example of the team drafting a a we’re going to strengthen a strength the defensive line Shawn Peyton and George Peyton both said along with the O line was one of their highest graded position groups on the entire team so you add strength to a strength when it comes to your draft strategy i think that ultimately plays well for you because then you do have to let guys go in free agency eventually you do have to say goodbye to some players even with your cap situation getting better even with the Russell Wilson dead money coming off you still have to do future planning and and things like that and so you strengthen a strength now so that you can have those guys ready to go down the line when they’re needed yeah you had Seavon you had Q Robinson who you know has been a standout at least in the early portions of the offseason program without pads we want to see what it looks like when the pads come on you get Jeremy Cross a guy who could absolutely boom the football as a punter and you have a you know a lowrisk high reward investment as a seventh round pick a tight end and Caleb Loner who’s got really great size to him i think he’s going to be a very good blocker for the Broncos here i think will be a vertical upfield threat here for the Broncos offense and Bone Knicks if he can continue to climb forward and and make progress in his ongoing development there to complement a guy like Adam Troutman and even Evan Ingram at this point i think that loner is going to be very much in the mix and who knows what the undrafted class will bear here for this year’s Broncos class but you know Denver’s in a good position right now where look you got a young roster but you got a roster that believes that they can be scary and I think that type of belief and that notion as a as a player inside that locker room the culture that is being built because we talked so much about it in yesterday’s episode show the Broncos have a culture that is fostering this new level of confidence as they step forth into this upcoming season that will ultimately test them in a lot of different ways with a tougher schedule uh the stakes are always higher but you have a belief now we made it to the playoffs we believe we can go further we want to host the playoff game we believe we can win the division those are the things that the Broncos have this belief on and a lot of that is going to be structured and shaped by these young guys in their contributions the guys who were rookies last year they’re going into secondyear players and already the foundational pieces that you have the veteran guys and the leadership that you already have on this roster denver’s in a great spot and I just think we go back to what we talked about at the very beginning of the show about how that potential Russell Wilson deal could have crippled the Broncos if they would have given him that seven-year deal i look at it now two years that flip from where Denver was at perception-wise to now sarah it’s astronomical i don’t know if there’s another team in the NFL whose perception changed so widely than Denver in the last two seasons there’s absolutely not there there’s c The Broncos were projected to get the number one pick in the 2025 NFL draft they were projected to have the worst record arguably in the entire NFL and it was because everyone was laughing at them for cutting Russell Wilson cutting Justin Simmons trading Jerry Judy those were perceived as moves that indicated this team is is rebuilding in a way that they’re tearing it down i think the Broncos just realized that they had better options that they could turn to and they did they did turn to those so I love that this organization took the approach when they were in very clearly quarterback purgatory they didn’t get desperate like the Cleveland Browns did and they didn’t get to that point to where they were like “Oh we need Russell Wilson to come save us i think they allowed him to come in and say “Hey we want you to be the face of the franchise we’re going to compensate you accordingly.” And then Russell failed and I don’t think it was the other way around i think Russell I think Cody there’s aspects of the whole situation that certainly weren’t in his control injuries in his first year Shawn Payeyton changing things in year two but ultimately he was paid 245 million or 124 million in guarantees over the first three years of that deal to be the face of the franchise and he did not live up to that there’s no question about it and I don’t think it can be cut any other way i don’t think it can be sliced any other way because we saw last year the proof of what a quarterback that takes fewer sacks can do for this team even though he was a rookie and learning and it just it it wasn’t the same with Bo Knicks as it was with Russell Wilson it’s a completely different culture that this team has it’s not built around the gravitational pull is around the quarterback in terms of the attention it’s all about the gravitational pull in terms of everybody wants to be there because of this guy um and and not they’re there despite this guy so I I know that may sound harsh and things like that but it’s a it’s a huge reality check for this organization and I’m glad that they didn’t take that desperation approach back in 2022 i mean it’s evident i see it daily just how different the locker room is how it responds to Bo in comparison to Russell and look guys loved Russell Wilson there were guys that liked him but there was just a different dynamic when he was in the locker room versus now like when Bo’s in that locker room it just seems like there is this there’s a level of calmness like you’re not walking on eggshells I think in that locker room so to speak so I I’m with you sir the Broncos are in a much better position and look Broncos country we want to hear from you your thoughts on all the developments that are coming out in the recent case regarding the NFL the NFL PA and the idea of collusion going on to prohibit fully guaranteed contracts from taking place what we learn from the Broncos and Russell Wilson let us know here but for all you everyday here’s what you can get on tomorrow’s episode of the show sarah and I we’re going to take a look at three of the top quarterbacks the toughest QBs that the Denver Broncos are going to face next season and the pieces around them and where they could challenge the Broncos the most we’ll look at that much more on tomorrow’s episode of the show

The Denver Broncos avoided further disaster with the Russell Wilson contract by not giving him the initial extension he was seeking. How have Sean Payton and George Paton navigated the Broncos out of the mess that was Wilson’s deal and why are they heading in the right direction with Bo Nix and the foundational pieces of this roster intact?

Cody Roark is a credentialed beat reporter for Mile High Sports and covers the Broncos daily in person. Sayre Bedinger is the site expert for Predominantly Orange. Both bring Broncos Country the most in-depth and objective coverage of the Denver Broncos.

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