The full cost of the Broncos’ trade for quarterback Russell Wilson is staggering
The Denver Broncos’ blockbuster trade with the Seattle Seahawks took place two years ago on Friday.
Bringing in quarterback Russell Wilson was seen as a franchise-altering move by many NFL pundits. The Denver Post wrote this:
The trade makes the Broncos contenders in the AFC … instantly.
The trade makes the Broncos formidable on offense … finally.
And the trade makes the Broncos a marquee franchise … again.
Strike one, strike two and strike three.
Unfortunately for the Broncos, the trade was franchise altering, just not in a positive direction. Denver had an 11-19 record in games started by Wilson in his two seasons.
The franchise on Monday announced it would release Wilson after the NFL year begins March 13.
“As we move forward, we are focused on building the strongest team possible for the 2024 season and beyond,” Broncos general manager George Paton and head coach Sean Payton said in a joint statement. “We are excited to improve this offseason and will have the flexibility to get better through the draft and free agency.”
The Broncos will look to make those improvements while dealing with massive dead cap money over the next two seasons. Here is a look at what the Wilson trade cost Denver in terms of money and draft picks. It’s staggering.
Denver’s $85 million dead cap hit for Wilson is far and away the largest in NFL history. The cap hit will be spread over two seasons and both of those make the top 5 in league history.
The good news for the Broncos is the NFL salary cap for 2024 has been set at $255.4 million.
The bad news: CBS Sports ranks the Broncos’ salary-cap space as the 28th best in the NFL.
The NFL Draft
Denver will be picking in the first round of the NFL Draft this year for the first time since 2021. The Broncos had traded their previous two first-round picks to Seattle for Wilson.
The Broncos don’t have a second-round pick (that went to the Saints in the trade for coach Sean Payton). But they have a pick in rounds three through six, as Broncos Wire noted.
Denver’s QB 1?
Who will be under center for the Broncos in their opener next season?
Here’s what Ian Rapoport said Monday on the NFL Network: “They are going to evaluate all of the top quarterbacks in this draft. Sean Payton was at the Combine, certainly dialed in on quarterbacks, did a lot of the research, spent some time with I believe some of the quarterbacks there.
“Would I be surprised if they traded up? Probably not. ... If they do not do that, though, Jarrett Stidham is set to be their starter for the 2024 season. Saw a little of him last year, I know they really liked him.”
Rapoport said Denver could bring in a quarterback like Jacoby Brissett or Sam Darnold to compete for the starting job, too.
Stidham started two games last year for the Broncos, completing 60.6% of his pass attempts for 496 yards and two touchdowns. He threw one interception, and Denver was 1-1 in the games Stidham started.
This story was originally published March 5, 2024 at 8:49 AM.
