5 NFL stars failing to live up to massive contracts in 2022
NFL player no. 4: Russell Wilson, QB, Denver Broncos
Pick Analysis. Russell Wilson. 45. player. Scouting Report. QB. Broncos. 2
Contract: 5 years/$242.5 million
The only contract worse than Kyler Murray’s contract (as far as quarterbacks go) is Russell Wilson’s. The Denver Broncos have been one of the biggest disappointments of the 2022 season thus far. The team is currently 2-5 and holds last place in the AFC West. The Broncos defense has been holding its own however the offense has been deplorable. Wilson cannot seem to get in sync with his receivers, has issues throwing over the middle of the field, and his accuracy is called under question on play after play.
Wilson isn’t entirely at fault as there have been some obscene drops by his receivers and the play calling by head coach Nathaniel Hackett is underwhelming, to say the least. Wilson ultimately is the root of the issues in Denver and his 2022 statistics paint a picture if you have not been watching the Broncos play.
Wilson is currently ranked 19th in yards with 1,442, 26th in touchdowns with 5, and has a QBR of 35.2 which ranks him 29th out of all quarterbacks in the league. Let that sink in; Wilson does not rank above 19th in any of the major categories and actually tends to fall toward the bottom of the 32 starting quarterbacks in the league. However, Wilson is the 2nd highest paid quarterback in the league and is currently out for several weeks with a partially torn hamstring.
The injury is not Wilson’s fault but when he is already playing worse than 80% of all quarterbacks on top of Denver making a huge financial investment in his playmaking abilities ($161 million guaranteed) this whole experiment is rapidly heading toward disaster. The Broncos do not have an out on Wilson’s contract until 2026 so they are stuck with this decision and have to hope things turn around.