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Sean Payton Takes Unprovoked Shot at Russell Wilson After Giants Win

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Austin C. Boyd | Last updated Oct 20, 2025 2:53 PM ET

Sean Payton has always been the type of head coach who has a hard time keeping things to himself. When he took over as the Denver Broncos head coach in 2023, his most important job was fixing quarterback Russell Wilson.

However, he gave up on that pretty quickly and cut the quarterback after just one season. It was obvious at the time that the two just weren't a great fit personalitywise, but it seems to go further than that. The Broncos played the New York Giants in Week 7, and it sounds like Payton doesn't have much repsect for Wilson's ability.

Payton Took Shot at Wilson After Game

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Wilson came into the season as the starting quarterback for the Giants, but lost the job after three games. He was suplanted by rookie first-round pick Jaxson Dart, who has looked very impressive.

Dart scored four touchdowns in the 33-32 to loss, and Payton revealed that he told Giants ownership that he had wished that Wilson was still the starter heading into this game.

“I have a ton of respect for that organization,” Payton said after the win. “I spent four of my early years there coordinating, Super Bowl, first game in this stadium, before 9/11. I’m close with the Mara and Tisch families. And they found a little spark with that quarterback. I was talking to John Mara not too long ago and I said we were hoping that that change would have happened long long after our game.”

While the comments are more about praising Dart, it's hard not to read that as a bit of a shot. He's literally saying the Broncos would've rather played the Giants with Wilson as the starter. It's safe to say Wilson and Payton aren't sending each other Christmas cards every year.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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