The Denver Broncos and Russell Wilson have parted ways and despite the classy message sent by Wilson to the organization following Monday's news that he won't be back in 2024, the veteran quarterback certainly feels much differently deep down.
The move is the latest in a growing list of failures for the Broncos organization who have decided that despite having to eat an NFL record $85 million in dead money, the best choice was to move on. They will now turn their sights to free agency or the draft (perhaps both) for a new quarterback while Wilson will be looking for another team to give him a chance.
Wilson has his eyes on being part of a team with a winning history and is willing to be a bargain to do so. He can afford to since the Broncos are paying him handsomely to not be on the roster anymore.
There are not going to be a lot of teams looking at Wilson, but one that immediately comes to mind is the Pittsburgh Steelers. They certainly have a history of winning and could stand to improve at the quarterback position. And unlike teams such as the New England Patriots and Washington Commanders, they don't have a top-three draft pick.
But many sources are reporting that the Steelers are going to ignore Wilson.
Most of the other teams that need a quarterback this offseason have a good path to get one. But if Wilson is seeking revenge against the team that just dumped him, as suggested here, there is one clear way for him to get it.
Signing with the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Raiders will be moving on from Jimmy Garoppolo and that leaves Aidan O'Connell, Brian Hoyer and Anthony Brown as the only quarterbacks on the roster. Clearly, the Raiders will be looking for a new guy.
They will probably look to the draft but if they chose to sign Wilson to bridge the gap until a rookie was able to take over next year or even further down the road, that would make a lot of sense.
If would give the Raiders a veteran option who has led his team to a Super Bowl victory and it would give Wilson a fresh start in a huge city. It would also give him the chance to play the Broncos twice a year.
Think back to when Brett Favre chose to sign with the Minnesota Vikings specifically so that he got two shots to play his former team, the Packers, each year. This would be like that.
Is Russ that petty? Should that even be considered petty? Or should he be considered prideful? Russ is a competitor and he will be eager to show that he can still play at a high level. There may be no better way to do that then to join the Raiders, who have beaten the Broncos eight times in a row.