The 2023 offseason for the Broncos is indeed about fixing quarterback Russell Wilson, no matter if Broncos officials say otherwise. The recent press conference from George Paton and Greg Penner was filled with useful tidbits of information about the direction that the franchise would head.
Both indicated that the purpose of the pending offseason was not to specifically “fix” Russell Wilson, but rather making the Denver Broncos a relevant and competitive team again. Whether they want to truly admit it or not, the 2023 offseason is indeed centered around “fixing” Russell Wilson.
I’m not sure a single person in the entire NFL landscape predicted the Broncos to be as bad as they are and have been in 2022. Some would claim that Wilson is indeed washed up and over the hump. Some have even gone as far as to say that the team needs to cut ties with the quarterback and already look elsewhere.
For many reasons, both logically and financially, that would be a horrible decision. The team is tied to Wilson for the next few seasons, and seeing as how poorly he’s played this year, the offseason moves from hiring the head coach to changing the offensive personnel should center around bringing the best out of the quarterback.
Frankly, I think teams do this each year anyway, so trying to help Wilson as much as possible is nothing new.
When the Kansas City Chiefs got blown out in the Super Bowl a couple years ago, they completely overhauled their offensive line in free agency and the NFL Draft.
A couple years before that, the Buffalo Bills decided to make life easier for Josh Allen when they swung a trade for wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Last offseason, the Cincinnati Bengals helped out Joe Burrow by signing three starting offensive linemen in free agency.
The name of the game in the NFL is to ensure your franchise quarterback has everything they need to play at their peak. For Burrow, that included an overhauled and strong offensive line. The same held true for Patrick Mahomes.
For Josh Allen, hitting his stride consisted of being paired with a star receiver. I don’t see how this offseason won’t be centered around Russell Wilson. The Broncos will be bringing in new faces along their offensive line, and I do think we see at least a couple new faces among the skill players on that side of the ball as well.