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Sean Payton Clarifies Beef With Russell Wilson After QB Blitzed Him on Social Media

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Joseph Varghese | Last updated Oct 23, 2025 10:30 AM ET

Football fans have witnessed the downturn Russell Wilson has faced ever since he left the Seattle Seahawks. There was hope that Sean Payton would help him turn his career around, but it became a disastrous time for both.

The head coach was screaming and shouting at his quarterback now and then, and many believed their relationship had soured to the point of no return.

Wilson stayed professional after the Denver Broncos decided to eat his $85 million dead cap, and never said a word about how his time with the franchise went.

After his exit, Payton, on the other hand, kept giving out signals that he was looking for something else in a QB. He finally found one in Bo Nix, and they have done well so far.

Earlier this week, the pair orchestrated an incredible 4th quarter comeback to defeat Russell Wilson’s New York Giants. After the game, Payton took advantage of the opportunity and decided to throw some shade towards his former QB.

This time, the 36-year-old broke character and labeled Sean Payton as ‘classless’, and brought up his bounty-gate fiasco to get back at him. Seeing such an uncharacteristic reply, reporters at the Broncos’ facilities decided to ask the head coach for his reaction to that tweet.

The euphoria, the way that game unfolded, that was strictly about (Jaxson) Dart. That was in no way shape or form anything was directed at Russ. I might be able to see how he might have perceived that.
Sean Payton said

Sean Payton said in no way shape or form was he taking a shot at Russell Wilson after the game, but understands how it could come off that way pic.twitter.com/gDq6fhJBGH
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) October 22, 2025

The 61-year-old seems to be intent on avoiding any further controversy. Shifting the nature of his words towards Jaxson Dart looked like a clever way to pour cold water on the supposed ‘beef’.

Sean Payton defends Dre Greenlaw over suspension

After clarifying his stance on the Russell Wilson episode, Sean Payton then fielded questions about his team. The Denver Post’s Luca Evans then asked the head coach about Dre Greenlaw‘s suspension.

We take it. You focus on the things you can control, and then you are on to the next thing… We were clearly in his corner with the appeal. What normally is a fine ended up being different. But again, we can’t control that.
Sean Payton replied

Sean Payton confirmed that they had appealed the suspension, but the league office upheld its decision. He believes his linebacker should not have been suspended for something that usually amounts to a fine.

Sean Payton said the #Broncos were “clearly in his corner” with ILB Dre Greenlaw’s appeal of his suspension.

“What normally is a fine ended up being different. But again, we can’t control that.”

Greenlaw was suspended this Sunday by the NFL after verbally threatening red pic.twitter.com/qKfiqToDxo
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) October 22, 2025

At the same time, he was careful not to stoke the flame anymore and avoided saying anything about what prompted his defensive star to go after referee Brad Allen in the first place.

Sean Payton’s Broncos next face the high-flying Cowboys

In their last game, the Denver Broncos struggled to score in the first three quarters. That cannot happen against the Dallas Cowboys, who are about to travel to the Mile-High City.

It so happens that Dak Prescott has been playing at an MVP level, and the rest of his offense is clicking well. America’s team is currently averaging a league-best 390.6 yards per game.

They are also scoring a phenomenal 31.7 points per game. To counter that, the Broncos’ defense has to be at its best. More importantly, Bo Nix and his offense have to start scoring from the outset.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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