When the Denver Broncos traded for star quarterback Russell Wilson during the 2022 offseason, many felt they would have at least a puncher’s chance of getting to the Super Bowl.
But what looked to be a promising 2022 season devolved into an unmitigated disaster, as they won only five games and finished last in points scored amidst some very poor play from Russell.
The hope was that poor coaching was the reason Wilson and his team did so badly, and the hire of new head coach Sean Payton restored some hope to the Broncos and their fans.
But the team is 0-2, and it has led sports personality Nick Wright to claim that Payton is getting ready to bench the future Hall of Famer, via “First Things First.”
"Sean Payton is slowly but surely building the case for when he benches Russell Wilson. … He's realizing the issues that were 'the worst coaching job in NFL history' were actually 'Russell Wilson issues' & he can't fix those."
— @getnickwright pic.twitter.com/l7mkaRFdWQ
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) September 21, 2023
Through two games, Wilson has completed a strong 68.2 percent of his pass attempts and has just one interception.
However, in Denver’s Week 2 loss to the Washington Commanders, he went just 18 of 32, got sacked seven times, and failed to pick up a first down during their last offensive series of the game.
The Broncos’ running game is struggling, and they rank only 21st in rushing touchdowns to start the season.
If Wilson does indeed get benched at some point, it would likely mean Jarrett Stidham, who is second on their depth chart, would take over under center.
In 13 career games over the last three years, Stidham has completed 58.8 percent of his pass attempts and thrown six touchdown passes and seven interceptions.
His only career starts came at the end of last season when he replaced the benched Derek Carr for the Las Vegas Raiders.
NEXT: Sean Payton Is Making Play Calling Changes Ahead Of Dolphins Duel
