Is Russell Wilson playing for his Broncos future?

Veteran quarterback Russell Wilson may be playing for his future with the Denver Broncos beyond Week 18 even though he and the franchise agreed to a five-year extension reportedly worth $245M with $165M guaranteed ahead of the 2022 season. 

"Wilson has $39M in guaranteed money next year, but if he's on the roster by the third week of March, his $37M 2025 salary also becomes fully guaranteed," ESPN's Dan Graziano explained in an article posted on Wednesday. "Making Wilson a post-June 1 cut would cost the Broncos $35.4M against their 2024 cap. It's a heavy hit but better than committing $37M in 2025 to a guy who's sitting at 20th in QBR with five games left in the 2023 season."

It was reported back in March that Wilson would essentially be "on a one-year audition" working under head coach Sean Payton, who joined the Broncos after Wilson and company endured a disastrous 2022 campaign. According to ESPN stats, Wilson ended Week 13 of the ongoing season ranked sixth in the NFL among qualified players with a 99.0 passer rating, 10th with a 67.5% completion percentage and seventh with 21 passing touchdowns. 

The Broncos were 1-5 in October before Wilson helped the club earn five straight victories. However, the 35-year-old tossed three interceptions in this past Sunday's 22-17 road loss to the Houston Texans. 

"Wilson has been largely fine (outside of Sunday's three second-half interceptions), but his numbers don't come close to justifying his salary," Graziano added. "Is Denver going to want to keep paying top dollar for 199 passing yards per game?"

As of Wednesday afternoon, the ESPN Football Power Index gave the 6-6 Broncos a 12.5% chance to make the playoffs heading into this Sunday's game at the 5-7 Los Angeles Chargers. At that same time, oddschecker listed Denver as a 2.5-point underdog against Los Angeles.