The Denver Broncos appeared to give up on Russell Wilson when they benched him with two games remaining in the regular season, but Sean Payton insists no final decision has been made about the veteran quarterback yet.
Payton discussed a wide range of topics during a Friday interview with FanDuel TV’s “Up & Adams” show. When asked about Wilson’s future in Denver, Payton gave a seemingly honest assessment of the situation. The coach said the Broncos have not even begun truly evaluating NFL Draft prospects yet. Payton also said the team’s decision-makers have to determine if they can do better than Wilson in the draft or free agency.
“We start draft meetings Monday. So everything you’ve heard and read about us (saying) oh we’re gonna trade up or trade down … I can’t tell you the jersey numbers of these rookie quarterbacks,” Payton said. “We haven’t even seen them yet. So, our thing to really do this the right way is to assess, hey, the quarterback position: Are we gonna be able to find it in the draft? Are we gonna find it in free agency, or is it in the building? I think that decision’s gonna happen quicker than later relative to Russ.”
Payton said he has heard all of the rumors and speculation that the Broncos will try to trade up from No. 12 overall so they can draft a quarterback. Again, he claims that the decision has not been made. Payton did not rule out taking a QB early, however.
While the Broncos would have to take a massive financial hit to move on from Wilson, they probably would not have benched him unless they were fairly certain his days in Denver were numbered. Starting Jarrett Stidham over Wilson assured that the injury guarantee in Wilson’s contract would not trigger, even if Payton insisted it was a football decision.
Payton was asked about Wilson’s future in Denver immediately after the season ended, and his response was similar to what he said on Friday.
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