The realities of the NFL can be harsh. It is very much a “what have you done for me lately” league. One or two down years, regardless of surrounding circumstance, and a player can find himself without a job and out of favor in the league landscape. Coaches and general managers have their own jobs to protect, and don’t always have the luxury of being patient and sticking things out. Perhaps no player illustrates that reality better than QB Russell Wilson.
Just two years after the Denver Broncos invested heavily, both in draft capital and salary cap space, to get him, they released him from their roster after a tumultuous stint with the team. Wilson always maintains a professional public image, as a former Walter Payton Man of the Year should, but he will have an opportunity to let his play on the field do all the talking in 2024.
His former teammate from the Seattle Seahawks, RB Robert Turbin, appeared on NFL Total Access on Tuesday and listed his favorite revenge game scheduled during the 2024 season.
“I’m going with my boy Russell Wilson back in Denver,” Turbin said in a clip of the segment posted on NFL.com. “Playing against his old team for the last two years – I cannot wait for that game. I’m gonna be there if my schedule permits…I gotta see this one.
“Obviously things didn’t go the way that it was planned to go in Denver. There were some relationship issues there. They kept it professional publicly and things of that nature, but there was some turmoil between the two sides. Can’t wait for that revenge game.”
Some of that turmoil included the Broncos attempting to get Wilson to restructure his contract to waive some injury guarantees. When he refused to do that, they benched him in favor of Jarrett Stidham. Head coach Sean Payton insisted it was a football decision while acknowledging the financial ramifications that factored into it.
There were multiple instances of Payton getting heated with Wilson on the sidelines, and it was somewhat of a hostile environment right from the jump after Payton joined the team prior to the 2023 season. Wilson’s personal QB coach was barred from the team facility, and Payton made it clear that Wilson was just like any other player on the roster despite the Broncos’ massive investment in him screaming otherwise.
Wilson will have a chance to let his play do the talking, and some have speculated that could come as early as Week 1 in what would make an intriguing matchup for the league.
Turbin knows what Wilson is capable of, having spent three seasons with Wilson in Seattle from 2012 to 2014. They won six playoff games over that time, including two Super Bowl appearances and one Super Bowl win. That was a decade ago at this point, but Wilson was one of the best players in the NFL and well on his way to a future Hall of Fame bid.
Wilson will likely downplay his revenge game whenever it happens, but you can bet he will have strong motivation to stick it to his old team after the way things ended.
