The Denver Broncos parted ways with Russell Wilson after the 2023 season, incurring $85 million in dead cap to move on from the veteran QB
The Denver Broncos and head coach Sean Payton came under fire for their decision to release Russell Wilson after the NFL’s 2023 season, absorbing a whopping $85 million in dead cap space to sever ties with the seasoned quarterback –with $39 million still guaranteed on Wilson’s contract at the time of his exit.
But with rookie Bo Nix at the helm, the team is now just one step away from matching their best season during Wilson’s stint in Denver.
Less than a year after the nine-time Pro Bowler’s departure, the Broncos are on the brink of their first NFL playoff appearance since 2015 – largely due to Nix, who is a strong contender for Rookie of the Year. Marking the dawn of a new era, the organisation picked the Oregon passer as the No. 12 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Denver is currently neck and neck with the Chargers for seven wins in the AFC West this season, trailing behind the leading Kansas City Chiefs [10-1], bolstering their chances of reaching the playoffs for the first time in almost ten years. Through 12 weeks this season, Denver has matched its second-highest win total since the 2015 season, when they clinched the Super Bowl with Payton Manning at the helm.
The official NFL website’s Rookie of the Year list places Nix behind Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels for the award. However, ESPN’s football analysts now rank Nix above Daniels as the Commanders recover from one of the most thrilling games in NFC East history, which ended in defeat.
After a shaky start to the year with two consecutive losses and four interceptions without scoring a touchdown, quarterback Nix has dramatically improved, racking up six TDs and no interceptions in his recent victories over the Las Vegas Raiders and Atlanta Falcons. Despite trailing behind rookie Daniels, who leads with 2,613 passing yards, Nix boasts a closer 2,548 yards, an extra interception, but also more passing touchdowns – totalling at 16 against Daniels’ 12.
Broncos coach Payton’s faith in Nix has never wavered; following a resounding 26-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3, he lauded Nix and dispelled any notion of a surprise confidence boost: “No. No, no, no, no, no, stop. Stop. It’s fitting your narrative. It’s not. The kid’s [Nix] been confident,” Payton insisted to journalists.
He expressed high regard for Nix’s resilience, having dealt with changes and challenges: “The kid’s been through Auburn, he’s transferred, he’s won and won and won and won. Honestly, I haven’t seen him flinch. We all get a little more confident with a win, but I say that respectfully,” Payton added.
The Broncos head coach closed his remarks on a positive note, emphasizing that despite early difficulties, “He hasn’t flinched and I think that we had a good plan. Players did a good job, and certainly he had more fun than he did in prior weeks.” The Broncos’ two-year run with Wilson was deemed a catastrophe even before Nix arrived. The 2022 campaign saw the team struggle with the lowest-scoring offense in the league, and there was little improvement the following year.
Despite securing three more victories than the previous season, Denver still ended up with a losing record and failed to make the playoffs. Wilson was replaced by Jarrett Stidham towards the end of the season, which led to him signing a veteran minimum $1.2 million deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Although he managed to secure the starting position over Justin Fields, the team’s offense has since been using Fields in situational snaps to take advantage of his speed.
