Ryan Clark, who works for ESPN as an analyst, made a very weird and silly claim about the Sean Payton and Russell Wilson duo on Twitter Wednesday. There is just so much nonsense being spouted about Payton, Wilson, and the Denver Broncos that it's almost hard to keep track of. Well, a popular talking head in the NFL world has made quite the claim about the Broncos and their HC/QB duo, which is going to shock the league this year.
On Twitter, or X, whatever you prefer to call the website, Ryan Clark tweeted:
Bruh… This Sean Payton & Russell Wilson news is crazy. Dude is going all the way opposite of how anyone has treated Russ or even thought about him. If it works he’s a genius, & if it doesn’t… Well, never mind. It almost seems he hopes it doesn’t.
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) September 6, 2023
This comes after ESPN's Seth Wickersham released a story that outlines some stuff that Payton has told Wilson. Below is a snippet of some of what Payton said, per Wickersham:
"“Will you f—ing stop kissing all the babies?” Payton reportedly told Wilson. “You’re not running for public office.”"Sean Payton to Russell Wilson
I mean, man, this is pretty gnarly stuff that Payton told his quarterback. This has sparked some recent dialogue on Twitter. Some people have gone as far as to say that Sean Payton "knows" that Russell Wilson is washed up and Payton doesn't even want to work with Wilson, who had a horrid year in 2022.
The issue with these claims, as I can post below for proof, are abundant.
He knows Russ is cashed.
— The Teal Mustang (@TheTealMustang) September 6, 2023
Russ is cooked and Payton knows it
— PF (@RealistPF) September 6, 2023
The first thing that is wrong with these takes is Payton taking the job itself. Why would a future HOF head coach leave his cushy TV job to go coach a QB that he apparently knows is washed up? To me, that just seems like Payton would be purposely putting himself in a worse situation, which is silly.
Sean Payton didn't take the Denver Broncos' HC job because he didn't want to work with Russell Wilson. That just doesn't make any sense. I also want to focus on the last part of Clark's Tweet. Clark says that it almost seems like Payton doesn't want the situation with Russell Wilson to work out. I mean, what are we doing here?
The Denver Broncos have been one of the worst football teams in the NFL over the last five years and just experienced a 2022 season where accountability was non-existent and good coaching was nowhere to be found. It's honestly a breath of fresh air that Sean Payton is saying what he has. I don't think Clark would talk about how Payton has talked glowingly about Russell Wilson recently; that just wouldn't fit his agenda.
The hatred that Russell Wilson gets is simply getting out of hand at this point. And the people who are criticizing the QB are doing so more out of hatred for the person instead of the player, and that's not OK.