Russell Wilson "Fired" - As the QB Turns
Mates,
The Russell Wilson experiment, all $242.6 Million (!!!) of it, is over. They have informed him he will be released:
The Denver Broncos have informed nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson they plan to release him, a move that ends a tumultuous two-season run with the team.
Wilson was 11-19 in two years. The team has to figure out how to deal with $85 Million (!!) in dead money over the next two years. Unbelievable.
Wilson did issue a pretty honorable 'Good bye', though notably leaving out the HC (Payton) and management.
Link to the article: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39654399/broncos-cut-russell-wilson-take-85m-dead-money-hit
So does this move JJ up the line in the draft? Will another team try to pull Wilson off the wire?
Happy Monday,
XM
i don't know who this is, beyond i know that is his wife. i'm afraid to look it up.
It's annoying when people blame someone's wife for that person's "changes." It's sexist and often wrong (yes, relationships do change people, but it goes both ways, but for some reason only gets called out when it's the wife/girlfriend being blamed). In this case, Wilson was well on his way to being annoying long before Ciara.
Lighten up Giselle.
Marshawn Lynch, in low pressure, non-football-media situations, comes off as a pretty chill and funny guy. My read on the guy is that he is 0% interested in playing any game other than football, and 0% interested in the give and take that comes with media attention.
Not saying he’s the best person ever, or even a good judge of character, but he seems like he’d be a decent teammate. And that he’d be super resentful of anyone who leans into the diva aspect of stardom.
I'm only replying to this so I don't get fined.
JJ is not going to last past the top 10. Franchise QBs rarely do.
He's in a pretty unique situation with regard to draft status. He obviously has all the physical tools, and if he had played for any other team, he would have been the focal point of the offense and throwing 35-40 times per game. That isn't necessarily a better way to prepare for the NFL, as JJ arguably played in a more pro-style offense and threw fewer screens and junk passes than most college QBs. But that does mean that teams need to do some projection based on his ability rather than just his raw stats.
The good news is that teams seem to be willing to do this, so I think he'll be drafted in the top 10. If Trey Lance can go top-3 with almost zero resume, JJ can certainly convince a team that he's a franchise QB (not implying he'll end up like Lance, only that a long college resume isn't necessary to be drafted highly). And a franchise QB on a rookie contract is the single most valuable thing an NFL team can have, so it's worth a shot.
I’d be thanking the HC and management. Let’s see, get paid a ton of money to get my head taken off for a crap Denver team, or enjoy the second half of my 30’s while making $30 million. Hmmmm…..
“What time do you want me to leave and what door do you want me out of, brother?”
That was Ed Orgeron after getting fired by LSU (with a $17.1MM buyout as part of the deal).
saw that coming miles away. plz don’t draft JJ and ruin his potential
What's the general opinion on Sean Payton these days?
For as bad as the Russell Wilson trade was ..... the Broncos also traded away a 1st and 2nd Round pick* to be able to hire Payton.
I get it, Payton has never lost 10 games in any of his 16 seasons as an NFL coach. That's a pretty remarkable record. But he's still a 61-year-old guy with a prickely personality, who knew what he was getting in Wilson when he signed, plus the BountyGate track record, and it's not unfair to point out his career to-date has 90% overlapped w/ having Drew Brees as his QB.
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* The Broncos did also get a 3rd round draft pick. But still .... they traded a decent bit.
Same career path as Bill Belichick - attach to a lifetime achievement award winning QB and hang on for dear life. Just ride it into retirement...
At least Andy Reid has done it with multiple teams and different players...
I think that's unfair to Belichick. It's not a coincidence that you usually see a great coach paired up with a great quarterback. Belichick provided an environment where Tom Brady could and did develop, and had the sense to stick with him when Bledsoe was healthy again. Imagine if Tom had wound up on one of those Lions teams Millen had hollowed out.
Belichick's decline has been obvious the last few years, though; the man kept hiring Matt Patricia, and he had two of his sons on staff last year, for crying out loud.
Look at New England's last Super Bowl win; that was all on the defense (and the most boring Super Bowl in years). Despite the Super Bowl win Tom's performance had fallen off a bit in playoffs in his last two years in New England, although I think his supporting cast had also fallen off.
It is pretty clear to me, though, that Belichick's biggest mistake was wanting to get rid of Tom Brady. First when Jimmy Garoppolo was a Patriot, and then when Tom actually left for Tampa.
This was always going to happen. Payton & Wilson clashed. Even if Wilson were young I'd prefer to have Payton, one of the premier offensive minds of the last generation.
Hell, he's the only guy to have gotten a useful coaching contribution from Joe Lombardi.
Is Vince's grandson the guy that Payton paid to setup the pay-for-injury scheme in New Orleans?
I don't have a moment of respect for Sean Payton. Thought he should have been kicked out of football then, think he should still be kicked out now. He literally paid players to injure opponents. The worse the injury, the more pay they got. The players participating should have been sanctined a helluva lot more, too...
No, it was Greg Williams, who was the D coordinator. I believe that Lombardi joined them afterward.
Yes on JJ. Much to the chagrin of the followers of Sir Robin. Almost like team culture is of importance.
Is Wilson just a diva?
Honestly, signing Wilson looked like a bad long-term play but I sort of assumed he'd have been competent for a couple of years first. Just a trainwreck.
I do worry if McCarthy goes to Denver if they don't have at least a 1-year plan for him; he's not going to learn anything good starting day 1 for a mediocre team.
Wilson really needs to give his genius agent a huge bonus this year as thank you for getting the deal done in the first place. Who wouldn't want to get fired with a guarantee payment like that?!?!?
The surprising record salary cap increase probably made the dead money hit more palatable for the Broncos...
I wish I had Wilson's problem. I could see him making some extra bank just being a backup 2nd or 3rd string QB.
yeah, when you show up to your new team and demand a private office and parking space.....
its probably not going to go well.
Only the stat watchers(akin to the cfb star gazers) and those who dislike Michigan in general have JJ going anywhere from 12 to the backend of the first round.
Those talking heads who have actual knowledge and insider information are generally in agreement that JJ will be the 3rd or 4th QB off the board and somewhere within the first 10-11(Minnesota) spots.
How bad might Vikings want JJ? One pick ahead of Denver. I don’t want on either team given the two teams I root for. But don’t wish Vegas on him either. Maybe the 9 pick ;) ?
Think you misspelled Mr. Unliiiiiiiiimited.
What a fucking 🤡
As they should. He looks like the doppelgänger that ate Russell Wilson and runs like he has rocks in his pockets….