Denver Broncos might benefit in keeping Russell Wilson for 2024

Sean Payton has proven that he can get efficient QB play out of Russell Wilson, and I think depending on the circumstances, the team might benefit from keeping him as the starter for 2024. The financial ramifications in cutting Russell Wilson this coming offseason would be hard to swallow, but possible nonetheless.

However, depending on where the Denver Broncos are picking in the 2024 NFL Draft, they may benefit from keeping Russell Wilson as the starter for one more year. It doesn't sound too inspiring right now, as Wilson has not been the solution, but it might make sense for the short and long-term.

The defense is currently playing pretty good football and have allowed just 22.3 points per game over the past few weeks. They are certainly playing better than they did over the first four games when they gave up nearly 40 points a contest, including allowing 70 points to the Miami Dolphins.

Well, the defense is probably returning to somewhere in the middle at some point, and the offense has been fine. It hasn't been great, but at this point, the Broncos feel like a six-ish win team in 2023, which would likely take them out of the running for the projected top QBs in the 2024 NFL Draft in Caleb Williams and Drake Maye.

Maybe, just maybe, in this situation, the Broncos would benefit from drafting one of those tier two QBs like Michael Penix Jr or Bo Nix. In that case, Denver might also then benefit from redshirting a QB like that and just sticking it out with Wilson in 2024. You see, this Broncos' team may need multiple years to rebuild whatever they want to rebuild, so I don't think there'd be a rush to start the rookie QB.

Having a situation where the Payton and co. rebuild the roster over the next couple of offseasons and then deploying the young QB after the 2024 season could be the recipe for success. In that scenario, Payton will have had two years to mold his offense and to get the players immersed in all the intricacies of what he runs.

It'd likely be a smooth operation with the offensive skill players being two and three years in the system, likely making the QB's transition into being a starter easier. And in that case, moving on from Russell Wilson at the end of the 2024 season could be much, much easier to digest.

They'd have to eat $18.4 million in dead cap but would save $37 million on their cap number in 2025. Perhaps this is the route the Denver Broncos should take.