The Broncos will pay Russell Wilson $37.72 million to not play for them this year. They’ll also pay Zach Wilson $2.75 million. Ideally, he won’t play for them, either.
Wilson is a developmental project. A third-string flyer. And, ultimately, an insurance policy against not getting the quarterback they want in the draft.
Not that Wilson would be a candidate to play this year. That’s unlikely. But the Broncos could learn enough about Wilson to consider him as a candidate to play in 2025, possibly.
If they can’t get a guy they covet in the 2024 draft, Wilson becomes a potential fallback option for 2025. If he can do enough this year to prove himself to Payton.
It would make for an interesting twist in the acrimony between the Jets and Broncos, tracing to coach Sean Payton’s comments from last year that were critical of the flavor-of-the-month franchise. (He ultimately was proven right.)
Wilson has skills. He wasn’t a reach at No. 2 in 2021. It just didn’t work for him in New York. Was it him? Was it the coaching? Was it the circumstances?
Payton and the Broncos are willing to wager $2.75 million in 2024 that maybe Wilson can be better than he has been. And the Jets were willing to pay Wilson $2.75 million to get rid of him.
The Broncos, by the way, face the Jets in New York this year. And, yes, it would be great if Wilson ends up playing in that game — and playing well.