Russell Wilson won’t be starting against the Los Angeles Chargers at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday. The Denver Broncos are sitting their 35-year-old quarterback for the final two games of the season, head coach Sean Payton confirmed on Wednesday afternoon
Payton said he is making the move to Jarrett Stidham as the starting quarterback in an effort to give the offense a spark.
CBS Sports writer Cody Benjamin reports that Wilson’s benching is being done “in an effort to preserve the possibility of a feasible split this offseason.”
“Wilson is currently signed through 2028, but he’s only guaranteed money through 2024. That said, his entire 2025 salary ($37M) will be guaranteed if he remains on the Broncos’ roster at the start of the next league year (March 17), per Over the Cap. So it’s probable Denver will make a decision on the QB’s future before then,” he writes in a new article Broncos reportedly benching Russell Wilson for rest of 2023: Can Denver get out of QB’s contract?
On Sunday night in a loss to the New England Patriots, Wilson threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. He became the first Broncos quarterback since Peyton Manning to throw at least one touchdown pass in each of the first 15 games of a season in the process. Manning was at the game to see Wilson in action. He brought his son to see his former team on Christmas Eve and was wearing an orange scarf.
The only other NFL quarterback who has thrown a touchdown in each of their team’s games this season is Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills.
