When it comes to the Denver Broncos climbing out of the NFL doldrums, the costly release of quarterback Russell Wilson was perhaps step one in the cleansing process. The cut heard ’round the world put the Broncos on the hook for the record sum of $85 million in dead-money hits on the salary cap over the next two years.
Taking ownership of the Wilson blunder requires the Broncos to acknowledge the brutal financial reality, which opens the door to catharsis. Sean Payton was key to the Broncos moving on from Wilson, and the head coach had no regrets when he held court with the press in Orlando, FL, last week at the annual NFL owners meetings.
“We felt it was in the best interests of our team,” Payton said about cutting Wilson, via DAZN.com. “Now, as we go forward, obviously we are in the middle of free agency, we’re preparing for the draft. We’ll look at both of those avenues to not only address quarterback but to fill other spots on the team.”
Broncos GM George Paton is cleaning up his own mess with regard to Wilson’s concussive dead-cap number. Nevertheless, the first dose of that medicine will be the toughest one to stomach, but it’s by design.
Having concluded that taking the larger portion of the hit in 2024 was the best overall strategy, the Broncos will now swallow $53 million of Wilson’s contract this year. Paton will go down in history as the guy who pulled the trigger on what is currently being framed as the worst trade in NFL history.
That’s certainly a heavy burden for Paton to carry forward, but he’s confident he can take the garbage out, which is required to remove the stink from Broncos HQ as the team absorbs Wilson’s fiscal impact.
“We felt like we could take the bigger hit this first year and still be successful and competitive this coming season,” Paton said via Andrew Mason of Denver Sports.
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The bitter Year 2 pill will arrive like an almighty hangover. The Broncos will have to seriously put their backs into shoveling out the muck, to the tune of $32 million, before Wilson finally gets washed out of their system.
Meanwhile, this financial tsunami has swept over the entire Broncos organization, carrying off the likes of Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons and young wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. Cleaning the house was never going to be easy, especially not for Paton. The aftershocks have been felt across the roster, with the Broncos approaching multiple veterans about contract restructures, and having to say goodbye to their developed-in-house free agents like linebacker Josey Jewell and center Lloyd Cushenberry III.
On that front, Paton deserves a degree of credit for his openness about the situation the organization is currently in, but the optimism he shared last week in Florida isn’t likely to be shared by fans until the Broncos hit on a quarterback. Co-owner and CEO Greg Penner echoed his GM, while being pragmatic in recognizing that there are no quick fixes.
“We’re passionate about being competitive, that’s both in the short term and the long term,” Penner said last week via Mason. “You know, you can call it sort of whatever you want, but our focus is on putting the best possible team on the field this coming year. I don’t think there are any shortcuts or quick fixes. we’re going to do this the right way and have this team be competitive this coming season, but also be in a position to build for the future.”
Hopefully, by the time next season rolls around, the Broncos will have taken the bulk of their medicine and will find themselves in much better shape. They say you should never let the ‘bean counter’ run the business, but the Broncos have little choice but to be driven by financial prudence in 2024.
