NFL fans joke there’s only one way Russell Wilson will achieve his ambitious Super Bowl goal
Russell Wilson is hungrier than ever.
Wilson, a former Super Bowl winning quarterback with the Seattle Seahawks, has endured a tumultuous two-year spell with the Denver Broncos that culminated with him being benched for the final two games of the 2023 season.
5
Amid the uncertainty around his future, the 35-year-old sat down with former Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall on the 'I Am Athlete' podcast to discuss his plans and future goals.
During the interview, 'Mr. Unlimited' laid out his ambitious Super Bowl plan for the next five years.
He said: "For me, it's about winning -- over the next two years, I want to win two [Super Bowls], I want to feel the chill of that trophy again.
"I love the city and everything else, but you also want to be [in] a place that wants you, too. The thing I want to do is to win, that's all I care about."
NFL fans caught wind of Wilson's comments and joked there's only way he's going to achieve his goals - join the Kansas City Chiefs and be a backup for Patrick Mahomes.
"Russell Wilson campaigning to be Mahomes' backup," one fan joked.
"Then who’s he gonna back up? Mahomes?" said another.
"As what backup to Mahomes?," a third asked.
Most read in NFL
5
5
"Just take like 1mil for a backup role on the chiefs buddy," a fourth replied.
It's been quite the fall from grace for a QB previously thought to be a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame.
The Broncos went all in on Wilson in 2022 when he signed a five-year, $242.6 million contract - now deemed one of the worst in NFL history.
He was supposed to be the face of a franchise and deliver the good times back to Denver but things quickly unravelled.
Former head coach Nate Hackett was fired after Wilson and the Broncos went 4-11 in his first season.
Wilson was 7-8 as a starter this past season before head coach Sean Payton dropped him in favour of Jarrett Stidham for the final two games of season amid contract disputes.
Wilson threw for 3,070 yards with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 66.4% of his passes in 15 games.
However, the quarterback said he was told he'd be benched late in the season unless he waived a clause in his contract that would give him $37 million (his 2025 salary) guaranteed if he couldn't pass a physical on the fifth day of the new league year in March.
The Broncos still owe him $39 million in guaranteed money, so they may have to eat a ton of dead money if he's to walk away in the coming weeks.
5
5
That would allow him to take the league minimum elsewhere ($1.21 million), meaning a potential team could pick him up for peanuts.
With that said, it's not a foregone conclusion that the two parties will go their separate ways.
In his interview with Marshall, Wilson said he'd be happy to say put in Denver but he hasn't given it much thought.
"Honestly, I haven't thought about it," he said.
"I've got more fire than ever, honestly, especially over the past two years of what I've gone through,'' Wilson added.
"Whether it's in Denver or somewhere else, I hope it's in Denver, I hope I get to finish there. I committed there, I wanted to be there. I want to be there."
But it's still unclear how the franchise feels and a decision is yet to be made.
Once a decision is made, head coach Payton said, Wilson will 'be the first to know.'
"Otherwise it would have been like, 'Hey, goodbye,'" he said.
Read More on talkSPORT
"We'll look at all the scenarios and try to do what's best for the Broncos. But communication will be important, and that final decision hasn't been made."
How the situation plays out remains to be seen, but it might just be best for the Broncos to cut ties with Wilson, absorb the huge cap hit and move on in a different direction.
Topics