There may not have been a more disappointing performance during the 2022 season than Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos. There were major expectations placed on the team after acquiring the star quarterback from the Seattle Seahawks, but they fell woefully short of expectations.
Denver had the worst scoring offense in the NFL and was 21st in yardage gained. Wilson put together the least productive season of his career, and the Broncos fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett after less than one season on the job.
That has led to plenty of criticism being shared toward Wilson from fans and the media. Now, some of his old teammates are joining the fray as well. Former Seahawks linebacker, K.J. Wright, recently offered up his opinion on the matter while making an appearance on "Good Morning Football."
He believes the trade between the Broncos and Seahawks could go down as the biggest heist in NFL history. Wright added that he believes Wilson’s legacy could be on the line during the 2023 season.
Wright praised his former head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider as geniuses for pulling off the deal. He also noted that Wilson’s performance needs to be taken to another level as more people’s jobs will be on the line, just as it ended up being for Hackett.
There is some merit to what Wright is saying about this being a heist, as the Broncos paid a premium price. They are easily on the losing end of this deal thus far as it was Seattle, not Denver, that made the playoffs last season.
All in all, the Broncos traded five draft picks and three players to the Seahawks. Two of those picks were first-rounders, both of which landed inside the top 10. Two second-round picks and a fifth-round pick were included along with quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant and defensive lineman Shelby Miller.
By extension, that trade also enabled the Seahawks to snag Dre’Mont Jones away from the Broncos in free agency this year. With all of the money that Seattle cleared by trading Wilson, they were able to reallocate it elsewhere on the roster.
On top of all of the assets traded, the Broncos signed Wilson to an extension worth nearly a quarter-billion dollars. Wright is certainly correct when saying the pressure is on as another dud season will have people questioning Wilson’s entire body of work throughout his career.
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