The Denver Broncos fooled around for about eight years with the quarterback position after Peyton Manning retired following the Super Bowl title in 2015. On one hand, it wasn't the wrong idea to think that finding a competent QB would have kept the Broncos relevant, but not only did Denver not do this for a while, they also failed to 'get with the times' in the modern-day NFL until 2024.
The guaranteed way to sustain success in this league for a long time is to take to the NFL Draft and develop a quarterback. The last major QB move the Denver Broncos made before finding Bo Nix in 2024 was trading a ton of draft picks and multiple players to the Seattle Seahawks for Russell Wilson.
In short, the Wilson era simply did not work out. He went 11-19 in 30 starts and, while he was efficient-ish in 2023, was clearly not a QB that a team could continue starting. After a failed stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024, Wilson signed with the New York Giants in 2025 and again played poorly.
Russell Wilson's 2025 season with the Giants may have been his last in the NFL
It's really hard to imagine that Russell Wilson is able to find a new team for the 2026 season, as the 2025 campaign might have just been his last in the NFL. In his post-Seahawks' tenure, Russell Wilson was simply not good:
17-27
9,907 yards
61 touchdowns
27 interceptions
90.9 passer rating
38.7 QBR
In his Seahawks' tenure, Wilson had a 101.8 passer rating and a 72.7 QBR. The main reason why Wilson has regressed is that he's approaching 40 years old, and what made him great earlier in his career is not something that can age well.
Russell Wilson was never a pure pocket passer and continually performed at his best when he was able to create out of structure. Wilson was never a fast processor and continually took too many sacks, even in his prime. Now that he's slower and just not the athlete he once was, this is the product we see on the field.
It's a sad ending to an otherwise Hall of Fame career, and when Denver swung the trade back in 2022, it's clear they were hoping for a few seasons of that elite play that many of us saw from Wilson. However, with the way the past couple of seasons have gone, it's hard to imagine any NFL team taking a swing on him in 2026.