Colin Cowherd: “Sean Payton takes over the Denver Broncos and fixes Russell Wilson about as much as you can fix him. He got about 80% of Russell Wilson in Seattle. He’s now been benched for the final two games – why? He’s already got $39 million guaranteed on the books for next year and would get an additional $37 million if he can’t pass a physical in early March, so they’re taking him out of games and are going to play Jarrett Stidham. We wondered why they were paying Stidham, a backup, so much, but Sean Payton knew pretty early that this was a weird fit [with Russell Wilson]. It’s a personality clash. One guy is intense, confrontational, and outspoken, another is highly uber-optimistic, which has turned lots of teammates off throughout the years. They think it’s phony and cringey. I know both; the coach really well. He’s an authentic, straight shooter, lots of opinions, he’s going to tell you what he thinks, and Russell tends to be more laid back, ‘everything is going to be OK’, positive outlook, little bit of Kirk Cousins, and a lot of teammates don’t like it. The signing of Stidham was bizarre but that told me that Sean Payton had seen enough and knew this was a problematic relationship. Russell Wilson is smaller... Tua has acknowledged that at times he has trouble seeing over the offensive line. Kyler Murray’s greatest success is often moving outside the pocket. Russell Wilson’s career is highlighted by rainbow throws up the sideline, moving around a lot, and making plays outside of the pocket, but if you watch Russell Wilson in the pocket, you would argue that he struggles to see the down the field and between the hashmarks. Denver has very few 25-yard completions – and they have Cortland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy; fast guys who can get open. They have very few middle of the field completions. It’s sideline stuff, and Russell escaping the pocket and throwing it deep. The Bradys, the Mannings, the Big Bens, the Mahomes, and the great ones LIVE in the middle of the field and eat it alive. Russell sometimes can’t see the middle of the field. There are open plays down the middle of the field and I don’t think Russell sees them. The average offensive linemen is 6’6”. The question now is ‘where does Russell go?’ because clearly Denver is going to move off Russ. Keep your eye on Tennessee and Washington. First-round quarterbacks are less than a 50/50 hit rate. You have a new owner in Washington, Russell Wilson is from around that area, and he would be the best quarterback they’ve had in awhile. He’s a dynamic play-maker and money isn’t going to be a problem. Washington has a very interesting roster. Is Tennessee going to depend on Will Levis? Does Mike Vrabel wanna keep losing? Look at the AFC, c’mon. I’m not saying Will Levis can’t become something, but I think Washington and Tennessee are certainly places to look at. Atlanta and Minnesota have offensive coaches, I think they would push back on Russell. Offensive coaches talk amongst themselves. There’s a different code, language, and secrets among offensive coaches. I think Kevin O’Connell would talk to McVay and McVay would say ‘this doesn’t work for you.’ I think offensive coaches have a greater sense of it. Defensive coaches don’t know offense, so a playmaker at offense, upgrade over Will Levis, upgrade over Sam Howell in their eyes... Defensive coaches -- Pittsburgh would be looking at it going ‘OK, Russell is a star!’ Defensive coaches see the world differently.” (Full Segment Above)
Watch Colin Cowherd of FS1’s The Herd react to the breaking news of Russell Wilson being benched for the remainder of the 2023 season, with Colin floating possible destinations for the 35-year-old whose career has taken a shocking turn for the worst.
Check out the segment above as Colin details what went wrong in Denver with future Hall of Fame coach Sean Payton, and how the Broncos quickly realized that Wilson wasn’t the franchise quarterback that they had previously envisioned him being.
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