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We’re beginning to learn more about the Russell Wilson benching in Denver.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Broncos stunned the football world when they announced they were benching Wilson for the rest of the season and replacing him with Jarrett Stidham.
Sources: The #Broncos are, in fact, benching Russell Wilson for the final two games, preserving their financial flexibility for the offseason.
Jarrett Stidham starts. pic.twitter.com/8sh7ORek5Q
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 27, 2023
Broncos head coach Sean Payton has initially denied that the move was for money reasons, but one reporter is refuting Payton’s claims.
According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the Broncos had threatened to bench Wilson weeks ago if he didn’t remove the injury guarantees from his contract. The Broncos’ QB reportedly was “shocked” by the threat, and things went south after that.
Via Schultz_Report/X
“Russell Wilson’s benching by the Broncos today is solely financially related and has been in the works for weeks, per multiple sources with direct access to the situation.”
“The Broncos approached Wilson two days after their October 29 upset win over the Kansas City Chiefs and told him he would be made inactive for the rest of the season if he did not adjust his contract and defer the injury guarantee trigger date that he has for 2025. Wilson has $37 million in injury guarantees for 2025 that will become guaranteed no matter what on the fifth day of the 2024 league year in March.”
“At that time, Wilson was coming off a 3-touchdown game in the win over the Chiefs and was starting to experience the type of success he envisioned following a challenging first year in Denver. The threat however, “shocked him,” and the two sides got into a major dispute on how to proceed.”
It sure does look like Wilson’s time in Denver has to come to an end after only two season.