The Denver Broncos have been eliminated from the playoffs with one week remaining in the 2023 season. The team moved on from Russell Wilson after last week's deflating loss at home against the New England Patriots, and Jarrett Stidham took his place in a Week 17 win over the hapless Los Angeles Chargers.
But Russell Wilson was benched rather unceremoniously. The relationship between Wilson and the Broncos has seemingly dissolved in many ways with Wilson's camp alleging that the Broncos threatened to make him inactive if he didn't eliminate an injury clause in his contract which would guarantee him $37 million for 2025.
It appears the Broncos have fought back with some of the league's top insiders getting behind the scenes information about the series of events, telling their side of the story and ultimately driving a wedge further between Russell Wilson and the organization for 2024.
The way the whole situation has been handled has also driven a massive wedge between members of Broncos Country, who seem to feel like they have to go to bat for Russell Wilson or Sean Payton in this whole fiasco. One way or the other, it doesn't look like Wilson is coming back to Denver in 2024, but time will tell.
If he doesn't, there are a handful of ways Russ can really stick it to the Broncos and get revenge if he so chooses.
1. Russell Wilson can make the most of "offset" language in his contract
Regardless if Russell Wilson plays for the Broncos or someone else in 2024, the team owes him $39 million in guaranteed money. The Broncos are on the hook for that amount no matter what, but if they do release Wilson, there's offset language in his contract that will allow him to sign for the veteran minimum elsewhere and stick the Broncos with the rest of the bill.
And the minimum salary for Wilson in 2024 would be somewhere around $1.2 million, so the Broncos would be on the hook for about $37.8 million. Yikes.
Wilson could sign for $15 million next season and that would actually help the Broncos. But why would Wilson help the Broncos in that particular way? I don't think he would. He could sign a two-year deal with someone and keep his base salary at $1.2 million to make sure the Broncos are hit where it hurts, or where Wilson seems to think they are most motivated in this whole situation.
2. Russell Wilson could refuse a trade
Russell Wilson has a no-trade clause in his contract, and could get some measure of revenge against the Broncos for this whole fiasco by refusing any trade, even to a team he might want to go to.
The Broncos might try to facilitate a trade with Wilson to get as much value as they possibly can, or even to just lessen the blow a little bit when it comes to getting him off the books, but they might have a hard time finding takers for that.
Any trade would likely require Wilson to adjust his contract, and why should he be willing to do that after getting benched by the Broncos? Just like it was well within his rights to refuse to push back the injury guarantee, it's well within his rights to refuse a trade to any team.
And this is something I definitely think you can take off the table for the most part. Of course, you never say never when it comes to the NFL offseason, but I don't think Wilson is going to help the Broncos out by facilitating a trade. He will most likely want to maximize his value in free agency.
3. Russell Wilson could sign with the...Raiders
One of the biggest ways Russell Wilson can try to get revenge on the Denver Broncos in 2023? Well, he could sign with one of their biggest division rivals.
And despite the fact that the Raiders don't currently have a solidified situation for 2024 at head coach, I think Russell Wilson does make a little bit of sense there. I could also talk myself into the Raiders honestly just being a horrendous fit for Russell Wilson, so there are two sides to this one.
But for the purposes of getting some revenge on the Broncos, why not? Wilson would presumably have Davante Adams there in Las Vegas barring any big changes. He would have an improved defense to lean on as well as a strong running game behind him.
The Raiders do have Aidan O'Connell who has played some solid football this season as a rookie, and I think they could stick with him as the option for 2024, but the idea of getting a ticked off Russell Wilson at around $1.2 million is likely going to appeal to a lot more teams than Broncos Country may anticipate at this point.
I do think there's some "wait and see" with this idea based on the Raiders' coaching situation, but it's possible that Las Vegas could end up becoming one of the top few destinations for Wilson if he hits free agency, and he could try to stick it to the Broncos twice next year.