Heading into training camp, Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos will fight to win the AFC West — and more. What history must they avoid?
It seems like no coincidence that Russell Wilson’s illustrious NFL career began back in 2012, the same year Peyton Manning came to the Denver Broncos as a free agent.
The Seahawks‘ addition of Wilson and the Broncos’ addition of Manning changed the fortunes of those two franchises for the better, with each team winning a title within their first four years of joining the team.
Although the Broncos and Wilson have experienced significantly different levels of success since Peyton Manning retired, neither have hoisted the Lombardi since that time.
Now, just like Manning did in 2012 for the Broncos, Russell Wilson is hoping he can be the catalyst for significant change in the Mile High City. Unlike that 2012 team, Wilson must help the Denver Broncos avoid a dreaded label.
Everyone expects the Broncos to be much better in 2022 than they were in 2021 or any of the years since Peyton Manning retired.
It’s not just about being better, though. It’s about being the best.
Russell Wilson must prevent Denver Broncos history from repeating
When Peyton Manning signed with the Denver Broncos in 2012, expectations were all over the place. Nobody knew whether or not it was going to go well for Denver because Manning, at the time, was coming off of five neck procedures.
Would his arrival in Denver just be another Jerry Rice or Simeon Rice kind of thing? Or would it actually work?
Through the first five-and-a-half weeks of the season, it looked like Manning in Denver might be a complete disappointment.
The Broncos were 2-3 and went into halftime against the San Diego Chargers trailing 24-0. It looked like they were headed to a 2-4 record with the bye week looming, and almost halfway through the way into the season, that was unacceptable.
At halftime of that Chargers game, though, something clicked.
Not only did the Denver Broncos come back to win the game, but they won in impressive fashion, scoring 35 unanswered points in a dominating second half.
And that half of football would set the tone for the remainder of the season.
Starting with that game against the Chargers, the Broncos didn’t lose a single game the rest of the season.
Heading into the playoffs with a bye week, Peyton Manning’s arrival had turned out to be everything everyone had hoped for, and then some.
He was playing at an MVP level. The Broncos’ defense and special teams were both playing well. From top to bottom, this was a team that had no real weaknesses even if the roster didn’t look perfect on paper.
Everything was laid out for the Broncos to be Super Bowl champions in Peyton Manning’s first year with the team.
- Team playing complete football in all three phases
- Healthy going into the playoffs
- Home field advantage
It was all there.
Unfortunately, in a fateful matchup at home against the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs, the 2012 Denver Broncos became something that Russell Wilson must prevent now in 2022.
They became the best Denver Broncos team to not win a Super Bowl.
They became the franchise’s biggest “What If?” of all time.
Is that a lot of pressure to put on Wilson’s shoulders? Absolutely.
Is he worthy of carrying that mantle? Absolutely.
The 2022 Denver Broncos have plenty of new pieces and moving parts. Is this a perfect roster on paper? No, it isn’t but is it a roster that can win a Super Bowl?
Yes, it 100 percent is.
Denver Broncos roster overview at QB: Russell Wilson fills the void
- QB1: Russell Wilson
- Josh Johnson
- Brett Rypien
The Denver Broncos have three quarterbacks on the roster heading into training camp and Wilson is obviously the most important arrival on the entire team.
Wilson renews championship hopes in Denver and it’s not hyperbole to say that he truly makes everyone better.
In order to find a truly prolific passing attack in recent Denver Broncos history, you have to go all the way back to the 2014 season.
The Broncos have not had a player with Wilson’s ability to beat teams through the air and with his legs maybe ever.
Behind Wilson on the Denver Broncos’ roster right now are veteran Josh Johnson and Brett Rypien.
Johnson has been in and around the NFL for a really long time now. A fifth-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in the 2008 NFL Draft, Johnson has a wealth of experience as a backup quarterback in the NFL.
He’s only appeared in 37 career games, but his value to the quarterback room goes far beyond things he’s done on the field.
He’s such a valuable player to have in the quarterback meeting room, on the sideline during games, providing that extra set of eyes for Wilson and Hackett and almost acting as a player-coach in some regards.
Johnson showed last year in some spot duty for the Ravens and Jets that he can play, too. He completed over 67 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and two interceptions.
Rypien, like Johnson, is also somewhat of a player-coach for the Denver Broncos. There has even been some talk of Rypien getting his vested veteran status as a player as quickly as possible so he can transition to coaching and get on the fast-track to being the NFL’s next best thing in that arena.
For the time being, Rypien remains on the roster and a valuable voice in the quarterback room.
He’s now been around for multiple front offices and coaching staffs and we’ll see if he’s made any strides on the field throughout camp and preseason play.
How many QBs will the Broncos keep behind Russell Wilson?
As of the time of this writing, the question of how many quarterbacks the Denver Broncos keep is a relatively tough one.
In many respects, I think you could argue that keeping both Josh Johnson and Brett Rypien is a wise idea because of what all these guys bring to the table in the meeting room and as voices on the sideline during games.
You want your QB room to be strong and collaborative.
Although the Denver Broncos don’t have three all-star caliber players at the QB position, they have the makings of a good room that complements each other well.
Everything hinges on Russell Wilson staying healthy, though.
If Wilson goes down, the Broncos will be in bad shape over any sort of long period of time.
But is the potential of injury enough to justify keeping three quarterbacks on the roster when you may need the roster spots elsewhere?
That’s where I think the argument reaches a true fork in the road.
The Broncos have so many tough decisions to make at receiver, offensive line, off the edge, and in the defensive backfield.
They already have three roster spots dedicated to specialists and possibly a fourth if you count whoever ends up making the team as the kick and punt returner.
Can you really afford a fifth specialist on the 53-man roster in the form of a backup QB that’s never going to play?
The Broncos have snuck Brett Rypien through to the practice squad before. Josh Johnson has been on practice squads recently.
I think if the Broncos want to, they’ll be able to keep this group of quarterbacks together by keeping one on the practice squad and only dedicating one additional active roster spot behind Wilson to the position.
In the end, that’s exactly what I think they’ll do.
There’s no question that Wilson is the best QB the Broncos have had in the post-Peyton Manning era. The team’s hopes of contending rest on his shoulders.
Avoiding the disappointment of being a great team that couldn’t finish the job in the playoffs?
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We’ll see how the rest of the season goes, but the Broncos didn’t just bring Wilson into the fold for regular season fireworks. They brought him in to hoist the Lombardi.