Denver Broncos shouldn’t regret Russell Wilson trade…yet

Nov 20, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Bilal Nichols (91) pass rushes at Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson (3) in the first quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 20, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Bilal Nichols (91) pass rushes at Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson (3) in the first quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /
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If there’s one NFL team right now having buyer’s remorse over a massive offseason move in 2022, it’s got to be the Denver Broncos, right? The Broncos traded the 9th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, plus their 2nd-round pick, as well as first- and second-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft (along with three players) to acquire Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks. It was a hefty price to pay at the time, and looking at the trade in hindsight, it’s heftier than Broncos GM George Paton anticipated.

Those 2023 NFL Draft picks are shaping up to be top-five picks in each round. The Seahawks have to be licking their chops at the idea that they would be able to potentially win the NFC West, finish with one of the top offenses in the NFL, have a whole bunch of new building blocks already in place from the 2022 offseason, and still have multiple picks in the first two rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft.

The Broncos? They thought the Russell Wilson trade would make them instant contenders in the AFC, much less the AFC West. Unfortunately, they are 0-3 so far this season in AFC West play, Russell Wilson has thrown an embarrassingly low seven touchdown passes through nine games (Brett Rypien started the Broncos’ loss against the New York Jets), and as of right now, Denver has nothing to show for the Wilson trade except for a bunch of booing fans every week.

Denver Broncos having buyer’s remorse over Russell Wilson trade?

Up to this point, it’s hard to chalk the Russell Wilson trade up as anything but a massive win for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson hasn’t been good enough for the Denver Broncos, but the team has made its bed with Mr. Unlimited. Not only did the Broncos trade two arms and two legs to get Wilson, they also gave up $161 million in guaranteed cash to re-sign him before he’d even taken a single snap for the franchise.

The Broncos’ front office felt like pretty much everyone else did at the time, which is to say they thought that Wilson would be the missing piece from a team that has been dubbed a “quarterback away” for the better part of the last three years. Unfortunately, nothing in Denver has gone according to plan so far this season.

It’s not just that Wilson has played poorly — he hasn’t been good enough, to be certain — but the Broncos have suffered a ton of injuries (once again), the coaching has been borderline incompetent, and the Broncos are among the league’s worst when it comes to offensive penalties and dropped passes.

None of this is a recipe for success. Apparently, the Broncos weren’t just a quarterback away. At least, not in 2022. But the question is, should the Denver Broncos be regretting the trade they made for Russell Wilson? The answer to that is absolutely not. The Broncos had the chance to get a quarterback that is Hall of Fame bound, who has a track record of doing nothing but winning and playing at a high if not elite level.

Russell Wilson set an NFL record for wins in a quarterback’s first 10 seasons. Say what you will about “QB wins” as a stat, but Wilson also had one of the highest QB ratings ever for a player in his first 10 NFL seasons. He’s been great, the Seahawks have typically been playoff contenders, and there was no reason to think that he or the offense could possibly be this bad when the Broncos made the deal back in March.

It was a trade most GMs would make 10 times out of 10. Even if giving Wilson a contract before the season was debatable, even that made sense at the time given the rising price of quarterbacks around the league. I think most people assumed Wilson could go out there and throw 25 touchdown passes at the very least, and help the Broncos coast to a winning record since they’ve been close in two of the last three seasons, winning seven games with some of the worst QB play in the league.

The process of the trade from GM George Paton wasn’t bad. Perhaps the contract before the season was questionable, in hindsight, but the trade isn’t something you’d regret making as a general manager. That’s the type of basket you want to put all your eggs into.

Can Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos offense turn things around? Possibly. It’s hard to believe he could be this bad when we saw him play at a much higher level just last season, even when considering he had to come back from a gross finger injury.

Will the next seven weeks prove to be more of the same for the Denver Broncos? Will Russell Wilson start elevating the guys around him with his play? We have yet to see Russ cook much of anything in Denver. Everyone expected more than just glimpses of competence from a Wilson-led offense. The pressure is on in Denver and Wilson has no choice but to go out there and perform.

Pretty soon, the Broncos will be having buyer’s remorse for this trade, but Wilson should get more than nine games to prove his ($245 million) worth, even if he also deserves a ton of criticism for how the first nine games have gone.