The Denver Broncos made a bold move to part ways with Russell Wilson at the end of the 2023 NFL Season. Could the veteran QB get benched? The move to bench Russell Wilson over the final two weeks of the 2023 NFL Season seemed widely unpopular by some in Broncos Country.
And honestly, the move league-wide seemed to not at all be popular. To an extent, that's understandable. Wilson, statistically, was having a fine year, but for those who actually watched the games saw how inefficient the offense was and how one-dimensional Wilson was as a QB. If you asked all 32 teams if they'd take their own QB accounting for 29 touchdowns and just eight interceptions in a given season, they'd all take that, right?
Not only that, how about a solid 98 passer rating? Most coaches with an ounce of common sense would definitely take that from their QB. Well, that's what Russell Wilson did in 2023. However. the Broncos threw for the ninth-least passing yards in the NFL in 2023. The passing attack was predictable; as it was either a deep shot down the field or a dump-off to a running back.
The offense wasn't sustaining drives, and when Jarrett Stidham entered the lineup, the offense looked the same, which was kind of the point of benching Russell Wilson. Even now, part of me thinks that there are still some fans within Broncos Country who are still mad about how the team handled the end of Wilson's career.
Some may still think he can play, but you know what? The ultimate "I told you so" by Sean Payton would be to see Russell Wilson get benched in 2024 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, especially considering the Steelers' backup is a bottom-five QB in Justin Fields. You'd have to then acknowledge that Payton was right in benching Wilson if the QB gets benched for Justin Fields, one of the worst passing QBs in quite some time.
And you never know; Russell Wilson and the Steelers offense might not mesh well, so in short order, the former Denver Bronco could find himself on the bench. That would give Broncos Country the closure they definitely need.