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Tag: george paton

  • Keeler: Broncos should spend Russell Wilson money on getting Bo Nix receivers without butterfingers

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    Say this for Sean Payton: He sure liked to spread the drops around.

    The Broncos were the only NFL team to place three players among the league’s top 15 in dropped passes during the regular season, per Pro-Football-Reference.com — wide receiver Courtland Sutton (eight), tight end Evan Engram (eight) and running back RJ Harvey (seven).

    No wonder a 15-4 record feels like such a Boverachievement, in retrospect.

    It’s going to be a beast to repeat if Payton and GM George Paton don’t add an experienced, proven wideout for Bo Nix in 2026. Or a big-time tight end. Better yet, both.

    What the heck. Russell Wilson is off the books, right? Paton is rolling into the offseason with diamond encrusted Walmart gift card in his wallet. Go nuts.

    “I think the position that this team, the position that we’re in, (we) have a win-now mentality,” Engram said Monday at Dove Valley as the Broncos cleaned out their lockers following a 10-7 loss to New England in the AFC Championship. “And there are some things that we can work with to even make our roster even better.

    “So, yeah — I have the utmost faith in the guys upstairs, all the decision-makers, the coach. They’ve done a great job since they’ve been here. They’ve built (a) championship team. Being able to add to that already, we’re in a great spot. We’ll be in a good spot for a while.”

    Yeah, but you’ve got to strike now. Nix is on a rookie contract through 2027. That time is going to fly by. Like the Nuggets with Jokic and Murray and the Avs with MacKinnon and Makar, this is the window. Right here. We going for this? Or not?

    “Obviously, we need some key players to come in and do what they need to do by getting points on the scoreboard,” veteran left tackle Garett Bolles noted Monday. “(We’ve) got a phenomenal defense. We have everything we need. We just need a couple more playmakers, and sky’s the limit for this team.”

    Almost everything. Nix can sling it with Sam Darnold all stinking day. What do the Super-Bowl-bound Seahawks have that the Broncos don’t? A bell cow tailback (Kenneth Walker) who has averaged 15 games per season over his career. And a No. 1 wideout (Jaxson Smith-Njigba) who’s putting up seven catches and 86 receiving yards per game this postseason.

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    Sean Keeler

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  • Broncos win AFC West for first time since 2015

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    A decade-long drought is over.

    The Broncos are AFC West champions again.

    The long wait ended Saturday evening in the midst of a long weekend for the Broncos, who beat Kansas City on Christmas night and then watched with joy as Houston knocked off the Los Angeles Chargers two days later.

    That result cemented the Broncos’ status as division champions by knocking the Chargers to 11-5, two games behind with just a Week 18 tilt between the teams at Empower Field remaining.

    Head coach Sean Payton has said since the beginning of the season that the team’s three goals, in order, are to win the division, earn the best seed possible and then play for a Super Bowl title.

    Now the first of those goals is achieved. Next weekend Denver will play for the second.

    The game against the Chargers loses some juice because, had Los Angeles won Saturday, it would have been a division championship game. Still, the stakes are plenty high for Payton’s team. A win secures the No. 1 seed in the AFC, a bye through the Wild Card round and the assurance that the playoffs will run through Denver as long as the Broncos are playing.

    Regardless of what happens in Week 18 — the NFL sets the playing slate after Week 17 action finishes, meaning the Broncos and Chargers could play Saturday or Sunday — Denver is assured of a top-3 seed in the conference and a home playoff game.

    The difference between the top spot and any other, though, should be plenty to keep Payton’s team motivated as it returns to the practice field this week.

    “We have to play the final game and we have to take care of it,” quarterback Bo Nix said Thursday night after beating the Chiefs but before the division was secured. “They’re going to be a good football team. Some other team could help us along the way, but at the end of the day, it is going to come down to us vs. them. We’re excited to have them at home. It is going to be a really good environment and atmosphere. It’s honestly a playoff atmosphere. It is going to be tough.”

    Now the Chargers have only seeding to play for, but Jim Harbaugh’s team has been a thorn in Payton’s side. Harbaugh to date is 3-0 against Denver since returning to the NFL before the 2024 season.

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    Parker Gabriel

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  • Renck: Von Miller will always be a Bronco, even if playing for Denver again unlikely

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    ASHBURN, VA. – Von Miller knew the answer. But he could not resist asking the question.

    A free agent last summer, training camp approaching, Miller had not decided on a new team. Garett Bolles, in attendance at a Von’s Vision event in Colorado, urged his good friend to call the Broncos.

    Von had not played in Denver since 2021. Russell Wilson had him on a group text with Chandler Jones in 2022, asking for him to return. Von wisely sidestepped that “disaster of a season,” signing with the Buffalo Bills as Denver added Randy Gregory.
    Three years later, there was a new coach and new quarterback. Maybe the remodeling needed an old antique to complete the project.

    Von picked up his iPhone and dialed general manager George Paton.

    “When Garett brought it up, I was like, ‘Come on, man.’ You have Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper. But I started thinking, ‘You have all these people on the team and there’s not a spot for me? I know there probably won’t be, but let me check and see.’ I talked with George and I already had an idea how it was going to go. And that is exactly what he said.”

    There was no room for the 36-year-old Miller, not with backups Jonah Elliss and Dondrea Tillman capable of playing special teams. The conversation with Paton, the man who traded him to the Rams in 2021, was productive, but not for the reason he expected.

    “It was more about me taking the steps to get into a front office. He knows I want to be a GM someday (a goal inspired and encouraged by Bills GM Brandon Beane),” Miller told The Post on Friday. “I am still happy I did it. That was this season. What about next year?”

    Sitting below the No. 24 name plate — an ode to Champ Bailey and Kobe Bryant — in the Washington Commanders locker room, Von flashed that devilish grin, the one that appeared so often after his franchise-record 110.5 sacks with the Broncos.

    Truth be told, he would “love to return” to the Commanders. Would like a “rain check” after a lost season because of a battery of injuries to stars, including quarterback Jayden Daniels. Daniels is why Von chose Washington over the Seahawks.

    “Nothing against Sam Darnold, but it was Jayden Daniels. In my opinion, it was the best situation,” Miller said. “They were coming off the NFC Championship Game. And (coach) Dan Quinn had a plan for me as a veteran player. He gets it.”

    Of course, nothing has worked out, save for Von delivering as an effective situational rusher. He has five sacks in 11 games. He wants a third Super Bowl ring. But he is also motivated to collect eight more sacks, and have his sons, Valor and Victory, gain a better understanding of what their dad does for a living.

    That is why he fully intends to play next season. Get that number, and he will reach 142.5 for his career, ranking sixth all-time.

    “Myles Garrett is like 14 sacks behind me, and he came into the league six years after me. I don’t want to make the top 10 and get knocked out,” Miller said. “I want to stay there for 10 or 20 years. So, yeah, I definitely want to play another year, and who knows after that?”

    With Washington hosting the Broncos on Sunday night, Miller cannot avoid becoming nostalgic. He never wanted to leave, but knew his time was up after he called a captains meeting with coach Vic Fangio and Paton to discuss turning the season around and aiming for a division title.

    “It fell on deaf ears. What I realized later is that we were were so far removed from that. That’s all I knew from playing with Peyton Manning. But we had guys who couldn’t relate. It’s hard to get somebody to miss something they never had,” Miller said. “I was talking about winning a Super Bowl, and they were like, ‘What? We are try to win a single game.’ ”

    A few weeks later, Von was shipped out. He was surprised, the news bringing him to tears. He still wonders if he would have played his entire career in Denver if the Broncos had drafted someone like Bo Nix.

    “We never had a quarterback for a lot of years. No one special or elite,” Miller said. “And Bo fell in their lap. And you’ve got him with one of the greatest minds in NFL history, Sean Payton. And they have Courtland Sutton, Troy Franklin, and Marvin Mims, and that offensive line is way better than what we had in 2015. This year’s team is special. And if Bo Nix continues to take those leaps.”

    Miller catches himself. There he goes again. He cannot help it. When it comes to the Broncos, Von is a fan.

    He spent a decade in Denver, morphing into a future Hall of Famer. He made mistakes, grew up before our eyes, became a father — his third child, a daughter named Virtue, is due in January — a leader and a champion.

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    Troy Renck

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  • Broncos agree to four-year, $48 million extension with center Luke Wattenberg, sources confirm

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    The Broncos have locked up another key member of one of the best-performing offensive lines in football.

    On Tuesday night, Denver agreed to a four-year extension with center Luke Wattenberg, sources confirmed to The Denver Post. It’s a four-year, $48 million extension for Wattenberg, a source confirmed, with $27 million guaranteed.

    The deal ties Wattenberg with the New Orleans Saints’ Erik McCoy as the fifth-highest-paid center in the NFL, with an average value of $12 million yearly.

    The move comes just a day after head coach Sean Payton told reporters that he and general manager George Paton had spent time before last week’s bye discussing extensions and initiating conversations with a handful of players.

    “The key is not affecting the mojo or how your team’s doing,” Payton said. “I’m always sensitive to that, especially when you’re playing well, because sometimes those can be difficult discussions.”

    The Broncos clearly moved quick with Wattenberg, whose rookie deal was set to expire after the 2025 season. The crop of available 2026 free-agent centers was fairly slim, and Wattenberg would’ve likely commanded a hefty sum on the open market. Still, Wattenberg’s extension — if signed as a free agent in the offseason — would’ve made him the third-highest-paid center in 2025 free agency, behind the Bears’ Drew Dalman and the Jaguars’ Patrick Mekari.

    The 28-year-old Wattenberg has become an integral part of a Broncos offensive front that currently ranks fourth in the NFL in pass-block win rate and ninth in run-block win rate, according to ESPN. Wattenberg won the starting job prior to the 2024 season in his third year in the league, authoring a strong year in pass protection in front of rookie quarterback Bo Nix.

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    Luca Evans

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  • Amid career year, Broncos RB J.K. Dobbins says he hopes to ‘end my career here’ in Denver

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    At the end of another J.K. Dobbins scrum that charmed the masses, employed little filter and featured him smiling roughly 5,643 times, left tackle Garett Bolles wandered over with a request.

    “I’m Garett Bolles, from K-Jazz 101,” Bolles said Thursday, posing as a reporter. “I’m just here to ask you a question about your Spanish. You’ve learned a lot of Spanish over the years, and I just — can you touch base on that, please?”

    Dobbins smiled, a month after he charmed the masses by giving an all-Spanish postgame interview on ESPN Deportes. He bantered with his protector at left tackle. And he asked Bolles to give him one word. A single word of Spanish.

    “¿Qué pasa, hombre, amigo?” Bolles responded, which translates roughly to What’s up, man friend? in English.

    Dobbins doubled over and shrieked with laughter.

    Any time Dobbins is mentioned in a news conference in Denver, Broncos head coach Sean Payton has uttered some version of the following: Denver knew what they were going to get on the field. They didn’t know they were getting, as Payton said Wednesday, “all this other stuff.” The personality, according to Payton, is infectious, beyond the success of a running back who ranks third in the league in rushing yards. And Broncos Country has rapidly become enamored with Dobbins.

    On Thursday, Dobbins took the love up another notch.

    “Far as extension and stuff like that, that doesn’t cross my mind,” Dobbins responded when asked about potentially re-upping with Denver. “But, me just wanting to be here in Denver — yes. I hope to end my career here and be here for the rest of my time in the NFL.”

    Currently, Dobbins is playing on a one-year deal with a base value of $2.7 million. And Denver is quite fond of rookie second-round back RJ Harvey. But Dobbins made quite clear he wants to stay a Bronco.

    “I don’t really think about that,” Dobbins said. “But, yeah, that would be nice. Because I want to be in Denver. I love it.

    “I love the fanbase,” Dobbins continued, gushing. “I think the fanbase and I have a connection. Love my teammates. And I also love, I love Sean Payton. I love the owners.”

    Dobbins has played 10 games just twice in five previous seasons in the NFL, and the Broncos appeared poised to slowly pass the torch from Dobbins to Harvey. Through eight games, though, Dobbins has shown no signs of slowing down. The breakaway burst may not be what it once was, but the vision remains. Dobbins racked up a season-high 111 rushing yards on 15 carries against a porous Cowboys defense last Sunday. He’s also held off Harvey for a true backfield timeshare, although the rookie had three touchdowns on just eight touches Sunday.

    The division of playing time suggests the Broncos still trust Dobbins more as a pass protector. The veteran has 29 pass-blocking snaps to Harvey’s four this season. On Sunday, he lit up Cowboys safety Markquese Bell to give Bo Nix ample time to laser a 32-yard touchdown strike to Troy Franklin.

    “He sticks his face in there,” Nix said of Dobbins. “He’s not a prima donna that is not worried about getting hit, or not wanting to protect, or just wanting the football. He just does whatever the team needs him to do.”

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    Luca Evans

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  • Broncos host Evergreen High football and flag football teams for practice

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    Nothing has been normal recently for Matt Van Praag’s Evergreen High School football team.

    The group and Evergreen’s flag football team have been displaced since the Sept. 10 shooting at the school that left two classmates critically wounded.

    The football team’s game last week against George Washington was called off and will not be made up.

    On Tuesday, though, Van Praag said he saw his team find a bit of that normalcy they’ve been looking for.

    It just so happened to be at the Broncos’ practice facility.

    The Evergreen High football and flag football teams traveled down to Dove Valley to practice at Denver’s indoor practice facility and then afterward heard from general manager George Paton and other members of the organization.

    “We practiced two days last week at Chatfield, and so on that Tuesday, when we went to the Broncos facility, it was the first time we really had a real practice where the kids were really engaged and it felt like they were having fun,” Van Praag told The Post on Sunday. “It changed the entire perspective. The other two days were a little slower; the kids weren’t really focused, it was hard for them to focus and kind of get back into the swing of things.

    “Being in the facility really just got the kids really excited. From the first warmup and getting dressed in the locker room all the way through the end of practice, it was really the first normal feeling — except for the location — for our team since the incident.”

    Evergreen’s offensive line coach is longtime Tampa Bay center Ryan Jensen. In the aftermath of the shooting, Jensen reached out to the Broncos about a potential visit. Turns out, the team also needed a place to practice.

    Soon, a plan came together.

    Evergreen High remains closed, though a phased reopening begins this week with staff back in the building Monday and, eventually, students beginning a partial return to school Thursday and Friday.

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    Parker Gabriel

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  • Broncos roster cutdown tracker: Will George Paton flip anymore Broncos for draft capital?

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    This Broncos roster, both by Sean Payton‘s own admission and by plain sight, is the deepest it’s been in Payton’s three-year tenure.

    That is an undeniable positive. It also will lead to some excruciatingly tough decisions, with players who’ve put together strong camps nonetheless likely to land on the waiver wire.

    “I was taught at a young age, the most significant thing is the right 53,” Payton said in early August. “So that’s what keeps you up at night — making sure we’re finding that group.”

    Broncos 53-man roster projection: Who will make Sean Payton’s last cut?

    The Broncos’ brass will have long hours this week as cut day dawns, with teams required to reduce their offseason rosters from 90 players to 53 by 2 p.m. MT Tuesday. The team can elect to sign a maximum of 16 players to their practice squad if they clear waivers, and the Broncos have until 11 a.m. ET Wednesday to claim players off waivers who’ve been cut by other teams.

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    Luca Evans, Parker Gabriel

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  • Keeler: Broncos landing Zach Wilson at QB? Smart. Settling on Wilson if Bo Nix, Michael Penix are available? Dumb.

    Keeler: Broncos landing Zach Wilson at QB? Smart. Settling on Wilson if Bo Nix, Michael Penix are available? Dumb.

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    Rescuing Zach Wilson is smart. Stopping at Zach Wilson is hubris.

    As a quarterback, Wilson’s merely appetizer material. If the NFL draft is still serving Bo Nix or Michael Penix Jr. as a main course, and at a reasonable cost, the Broncos would be crazy not to bite.

    A QB room consisting of Wilson, Jarrett Stidham, Ben DiNucci and a seventh-round flier to be named late would be the worst in the division (pending Raiderfoonery ). And arguably the worst in an AFC that’s still loaded with franchise signal-callers.

    In isolation, though, you get it. Landing Wilson from the Jets with a seventh-round pick for a sixth-rounder is a solid, low-cap, low-risk move. It just better not be the only one, at least where the quarterback is concerned.

    After Russell Wilson took the money and ran, the best thing the Broncos could do at QB1 right now is open this competition to the masses. Bring in as many bodies as you can afford until one of them actually sticks.

    And, on paper, this body’s got more upside than most. Maybe. The draftniks at NFL.com three years ago described the 24-year-old Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in the ’21 draft, as a “blend (of) Jake Plummer and Johnny Manziel coming out of (BYU).” Which is both awesome (the Plummer part) and terrifying (the Manziel part) in the same sentence.

    On one hand, the kid did beat Russell Wilson, head-to-head, at Empower Field as a visiting QB with the Jets twice in two trips since September 2022.

    On the other, what the heck does that say?

    If you look at Zach Wilson’s 30 career starts against anyone not named the Broncos, he’s sported a 10-20 record, thrown 23 touchdowns and 22 picks, and completed 17 passes per game at a clip of 56.5%.

    Also, he got benched for Trevor Siemian. 2023 Trevor Siemian.

    Wiser football heads, old coaches and scouts texted me Monday to say they still see a spark in Zach Wilson, that nobody could’ve walked away from the dumpster fire that is the J-E-T-S without some second-degree burns. That maybe Broncos QB Whisperer Sean Payton — Russell Wilson notwithstanding — is the sensei who winds up bringing it out of the guy, the way he brought it out of Drew Brees, Teddy Bridgewater and Kerry Collins, another top-5 bust in his early days with Carolina.

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    Sean Keeler

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  • Broncos like young core of cornerbacks, edge rushers, but there’s still room to add at both positions

    Broncos like young core of cornerbacks, edge rushers, but there’s still room to add at both positions

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    After Broncos general manager George Paton fielded nearly a dozen questions about the quarterback position during the team’s pre-draft news conference Thursday afternoon, he was asked about other areas of need.

    Throughout the draft process, many experts have had Denver drafting an edge rusher or cornerback with the 12th pick. And though Paton is confident in the depth at both positions, he didn’t shy away from the possibility of adding to either spot.

    “You are always looking at those types of positions,” Paton said. “If someone falls in your lap, you’re going to take them.”

    It’s hard to find quality edge rushers and cornerbacks, Paton reasoned. Players like Von Miller don’t walk through the doors every day. But at the same time, the talent the Broncos have at both position groups is young with room to grow.

    Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, who is entering his third season in the league, had eight sacks in 2023 after recording 1.5 as a rookie. Jonathon Cooper had a team-best 8.5 sacks, while Denver should benefit from having Baron Browning at full strength entering the new year.

    At cornerback, Patrick Surtain II, 24, has established himself as one of the best in the league. Meanwhile, Ja’Quan McMillian played at a high level in the nickel spot during his sophomore campaign.

    But questions remain. How will Drew Sanders fare if Denver switches him from inside linebacker to the edge? Can Damarri Mathis bounce back after getting benched in the middle of last season? Will Riley Moss be able to live up to the team’s expectations after playing three snaps at outside cornerback as a rookie?

    In a division where the Broncos have to face two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert twice a year, they might not be able to afford to take that gamble, especially since they have the potential to draft a premier player at either position in the first round.

    “Whether it’s quarterback, edge or cornerback, you know what they are. They are a premium,” Paton said.

    When veteran Fabian Moreau took over as Denver’s starting cornerback, he held his own. But there were moments where he lacked the speed to keep up with certain wide receivers. Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell — who could be available at No. 12 — does, and he can make plays on the ball. He completed the 40-yard at the scouting combine in 4.33 seconds while recording 18 pass breakups in his final season with the Rockets.

    Denver used its last first-round pick to draft Surtain in 2021, and it traded up to take Moss in the third round of last year’s draft. But the possibility of having two lockdown cornerbacks could be intriguing for a defense that finished 22nd in passing yards allowed (233.6 per game) last fall.

    When it comes to edge rushers, NFL draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said in a conference call on Thursday that he thinks Alabama’s Dallas Turner, Florida State’s Jared Verse and UCLA’s Laiatu Latu are the top three players. Depending on how the top of the draft shakes up, either one could fall into Denver’s lap.

    Even though Bonitto and Cooper improved, the Broncos were 29th in pressure percentage (18.2%), 20th in sack percentage (6.8%) and tied for 21st in team sack totals (42), according to Pro Football Reference.

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    Ryan McFadden

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  • Renck: Russell Wilson went from “Let’s Ride” to “Last Ride” with Broncos, revealing dangers of desperation

    Renck: Russell Wilson went from “Let’s Ride” to “Last Ride” with Broncos, revealing dangers of desperation

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    From “Let’s Ride” to “Last Ride” in two years.

    Broncos coach Sean Payton filed for divorce from quarterback Russell Wilson on Monday. The only thing to figure out now is who gets custody of Thunder.

    I was enjoying my return to The Denver Post, stomach full of lunch and face sore from laughs. Then the phone pinged. Any time there is an alert in early March about an NFL team, it means you’re not going to be home for dinner.

    Wilson arrived in Denver in March 2022 determined to make history. This is not what he had in mind. The Broncos will take on an $85 million salary cap hit, divided over two seasons. No team has absorbed this much money for a mistake. As in, ever.

    When the Broncos acquired Wilson, he was viewed as a savior — a former Super Bowl champion capable of returning Denver to relevance. Somehow, inexplicably, he made it worse. He won 11 games for roughly $124 million, a return-on-investment cringe not seen since the Rockies shipped off pitcher Mike Hampton in 2002.

    It was not all Wilson’s fault, though his decision to reinvent himself as a pocket passer in 2022 under clown show coach Nathaniel Hackett and consistent failings in the red zone this past season left his fingerprints at the scene.

    No one quite knows how the Broncos became a quarterback nadir, replacing the Cleveland Browns. Peyton Manning retired, walking into a life of commercials and coaching youth football, and there became a sobering new reality. The Broncos did not know how to find a replacement. John Elway had as much to do with it as anybody when he whiffed on Paxton Lynch, leading to long-armed reaches into the island of misfit toys that included Joe Flacco and Case Keenum. When general manager George Paton took over in 2021, he inherited the mess at the league’s most important position. Watching the Broncos spiral out of playoff contention in the final month, he surveyed the AFC landscape and determined a franchise quarterback was a must.

    Tired of shopping for a couch on Craigslist, Paton wandered into IKEA and wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He traded four draft picks (two first-rounders, two second-rounders) and three starters (quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant and defensive end Shelby Harris) to Seattle in exchange for Wilson.

    The trade now serves as a cautionary tale of desperation. The Broncos gave up everything and ceded all power to Wilson in the relationship. Getting a revised contract was always part of the deal to waive his no-trade clause, though he will never play a down on his five-year, $242.5 million extension.

    Wilson was given the green light to bring his entourage into the building and function as a pseudo-coach.

    It was an epic failure. With Hackett complicit, Wilson sacrificed a season trying to prove he could run an offense that was designed for Aaron Rodgers, the Broncos’ original 2022 target before he received a new contract from the Green Bay Packers.

    At one point in 2022, nobody was neutral in Broncos Country about Wilson. They disliked him. Or hated him.

    When the Broncos hired Payton 13 months ago, he made it clear he was not married to the quarterback. He would give it a season. It only took 15 games and he went to Jarrett. Stidham, that is. He became the 13th starter since Super Bowl 50 and was as underwhelming as those before him.

    It is important to remember Payton was not brought here to fix Wilson. He was brought here to fix the Broncos. That could not happen, he decided, with Wilson. The Broncos offense stank in the red zone and specifically in goal-to-goal situations. While Payton was rather ordinary on game day in his return after a one-year hiatus, he laid the blame on Wilson.

    Russ went off script. He failed to call plays quickly enough. He forgot to send players in motion.

    Payton, however, did the impossible and made Wilson a sympathetic figure when he benched him as it leaked out that the Broncos asked Wilson to adjust his contract during the bye week last October. Wilson’s $37 million in base salary in 2025 would have become guaranteed if he had remained on the roster past March 17. Denver wanted to move the date back. Wilson balked and explained in December that it was then that a benching was first broached. I don’t blame the Broncos for asking for relief, nor do I blame Wilson for refusing. The relationship was fraying at the seams.

    When the season ended, Wilson held a morsel of hope that things could work out as the team publicly kept the door slightly ajar.

    Wilson reached out to me last week, saying he “forever wished it was going (to happen) in Denver. I really wanted to win there.” His first year was a lost season for several reasons, including injuries — hamstring, shoulder, concussion. But he believed he played well last season, posting 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He was “grateful for long-lasting relationships,” but acknowledged it was time to move on from a “sad and disappointing” ending.

    No one will ever question Wilson’s work ethic or passion. He was better, but not in the eyes of the one person who mattered.

    Payton wants to run his offense — steeped in timing, execution and the ball coming out from the pocket. Scribbling outside the lines — Wilson’s strength — is not sustainable for the coach.

    Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, center, stands between Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson (3), left, and Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham (4), right, as the team comes out of the visiting tunnel before the game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada on Jan. 7, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders took on Denver Broncos during week 18 of NFL season. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

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    Troy Renck

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  • Russell Wilson reiterates willingness to return to Denver despite uncertainty on podcast appearance: “People think I’m out of there. Maybe I am”

    Russell Wilson reiterates willingness to return to Denver despite uncertainty on podcast appearance: “People think I’m out of there. Maybe I am”

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    Russell Wilson reiterated that he hopes to return to the Broncos in 2024 but doesn’t know whether that will happen during a podcast with former Denver wide receiver Brandon Marshall.

    Over more than 80 minutes on Marshall’s “I Am Athlete” podcast, the pair talked extensively about Wilson’s career, marriage, family and much more but they also briefly got down to brass tacks about Wilson’s current limbo with Denver.

    “For me it’s about winning. In the next five years I want to win two (Super Bowls),” Wilson said. “I want to feel the chill of that trophy again. So yeah, I want to go back to Denver. I hope I get to go back. I’d love to go back, to be honest with you. I’ve got amazing teammates.”

    Wilson, though, acknowledged he doesn’t know if that will happen. Marshall tried to get him to talk about other potential destinations, but the veteran quarterback didn’t bite.

    “I honestly haven’t really thought about it. I’m still in Denver,” he said, later adding, “If it’s not there, though, I’d go to a place where we can win again.”

    Asked if Wilson could play again for Broncos head coach Sean Payton after their first season together, he said flatly, “Yeah.”

    Most in the NFL expect, though, that Denver will release or, far less likely, find a trade partner to jettison Wilson before March 17, when $37 million in 2025 base salary would become guaranteed.

    The podcast went live Sunday night, perhaps not coincidentally, just before the NFL descends on Indianapolis for this week’s Scouting Combine. It’s a time on the calendar when a lot of business gets done and a lot of groundwork for future moves is put into place. Payton and general manager George Paton are slated to speak Tuesday morning and now Wilson’s put his stance on the record ahead of time.

    Marshall at one point joked with Wilson about where he’d live if he returned to the Broncos because of recent Business Den reporting that he and his wife, Ciara, are taking showings and accepting offers on their Cherry Hills mansion.

    “My house ain’t for sale. It’s not for sale,” Wilson said before tempering that a bit.

    “It’s not on the market right now.”

    Either way, he said he feels like he bounced back from a poor 2022 season and is planning on playing at a high level well into the future.

    “People think I’m out of there. Maybe I am, but no matter what I’d love to go back,” he said. “I committed. There. I committed to be there. I want to win more Super Bowls there. I love the city and everything else, but you also want to be at a place that wants you, too.”

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    Parker Gabriel

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