Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson. Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Broncos not buying Russell Wilson audible claims

By Clark Dalton | Last updated 11/18/22

The Broncos aren't buying claims that Russell Wilson is calling audibles they've never heard.

"That's BS," offensive lineman Dalton Risner told Ryan Edwards of KOA-AM/FM in Denver, "There hasn't been a single time he's made a check at the line that we didn't know what it was."

I asked LG Dalton Risner in the locker room about the report Russell Wilson has been using #Seahawks checks at the line, confusing the Broncos O-Line, he said “That’s BS. There hasn’t been a single time he’s made a check at the line that we didn’t know what it was.” @KOAColorado
— Ryan Edwards (@redwardsradio) November 17, 2022

Risner was responding to claims made by Tyler Polumbus, a former offensive lineman for the Seahawks and Broncos.

"Russ is losing his mind out there. He's using audibles from the Seahawks," Polumbus said Wednesday on Altitude Sports Radio in Denver.

"Russ is losing his mind out there-- he's using audibles from the Seahawks. The guys don't know the audibles. He's using codewords that the guys don't know"

-@Tyler_Polumbus on what he's hearing from inside the organization@ScottHastings | @JoshuaDover https://t.co/T2GBAAOdLv
— 92.5 FM - Denver's Altitude Sports Radio (@AltitudeSR) November 17, 2022

Benjamin Albright, a Broncos insider and Edwards' colleague, supplemented Polumbus. "There's truth to that," he said on Twitter.

There is truth to that.
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) November 17, 2022

However, it's becoming apparent this is a possible exaggeration.

When reporters asked head coach Nathaniel Hackett if Wilson was redesigning his offense, he looked stupefied.

"That's news to me," Hackett said in a Thursday news conference.

According to Hackett, Wilson uses codewords from Seattle, but he's aware of it, and "it's not confusing to (him)."

Wilson and the Broncos (3-6) have disappointed. Through nine games, Denver ranks last in scoring offense, Wilson is posting a career-low 33.1 QBR, and they're 1-5 in their past six games.

Per NFL Network's James Palmer, they could join the 1946 Steelers as the only team to lead the league in scoring defense while finishing last in scoring offense.

Per @NFLResearch , The #Broncos lead the NFL in scoring defense (16.6 PPG allowed) but are last in the NFL in scoring offense (14.6 PPG).
- The 1946 Steelers are the only team in NFL history to finish the season ranked 1st in scoring defense and last in scoring offense
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) November 17, 2022

Despite the disaster, scapegoating Wilson and making partially-false accusations fails to solve the problem.

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