5 terrible things to happen to the Broncos in the 2024 offseason
There have been many extremely positive aspects of the 2024 offseason for the Denver Broncos. The team has a brand-new 1st-round quarterback in place, they are coming off of an eight-win season after the dismal Nathaniel Hackett year, and the team seemingly got better in a lot of areas on paper. But there are a lot of reasons why people around the NFL world are down on this team, as well.
The NFL offseason can be unpredictable but ultimately, it gives us a variety of landmarks to point back to if things go wrong during the regular season. There are certain things that went down in the 2024 offseason for the Denver Broncos that were obviously part of Sean Payton's overall vision for the team, but they have been bitter pills to swallow.
What are the worst things to happen to the Broncos in the 2024 offseason and how do they overcome them?
5 worst things to happen to the Broncos in 2024 offseason
1. Taking on Russell Wilson's astronomical dead cap number
There is nothing pleasant about the Denver Broncos taking on $85 million in total dead money after the Russell Wilson trade ended up being a complete failure. The only bright side to the dead money left behind after Wilson's release is that the Broncos were able to split it up over two years, and they actually chose to take the largest possible portion in 2024.
The Broncos will have $53 million in dead money from Russell Wilson's contract in 2024 and $32 million in 2025. Meanwhile, the Broncos are also on the hook for a shade under $38 million in cash due to Wilson this coming season. They are effectively paying him to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers, even though the Steelers do have to pay a little more than $1.2 million.
This isn't just the largest dead money figure in Broncos history, but the largest dead cap figure in NFL history. Teams have paid the price in terms of dead salary cap before, but nobody has taken on a dead cap hit even close to $85 million for one player. The dead weight of Wilson's contract is even more upsetting when you think about the fact that the five-year contract extension he signed with Denver back in the lead-up to the 2022 season didn't even officially kick in until 2024. He certainly was paid a lot of money by the Denver Broncos, but he didn't take a single snap on his contract extension.
Ultimately, it makes the Wilson blockbuster trade stand out as the worst in NFL history.