"When we beat the Chiefs, they came up to me during the bye week...and told me if I didn't change my contract, my injury guarantee, that I'd be benched for the rest of the year," Wilson claimed. "I was definitely disappointed about it. It was a process throughout the whole week, the whole bye week. We just came off beating the Chiefs, played a pretty good game against the Chiefs, we just came off of that. So I was excited, obviously, for us to fight for the playoffs and get on a hot streak. And then the NFLPA and NFL got involved at some point."
This explanation contradicts what insiders close to the Broncos have been saying this week, with sources informing NBC Sports writer Mike Florio and other media members that Denver did not ask Wilson to waive or "change" his injury guarantees. According to Florio's sources, "The Broncos simply wanted to delay the date on which the injury guarantees became full guarantees." Florio and NBC report that the safety plan "transforms to a full guarantee on the fifth day of the 2024 league year, in March." The Broncos insist that team management was interested in delaying the date "on which the money became fully guaranteed until 2025," Florio reports. But Wilson refused to budge.
"I wasn't going to remove [the injury guarantee]," he said. "This game is such a physical game, I've played twelve years... and it matters to me. But at the end of the day, I think more than anything else, I want to be able to play. I want to be able to help this team win...and also, at the same time, I love this game. I know every time I step on the field, it's a physical game. I never play timid, I never play scared — that's how I've always played."
Wilson didn't say what led to him starting seven more games before his benching this week, but he did note how the possibility was lurking in the back of his head. Still, he said he tried his best to be a team leader.
"It was challenging, but at the same time, I have a job to do," Wilson explained. "At the end of the day, you keep your head down and stay focused."
According to Florio's sources, the decision to bench Wilson for the final two games of the 2023 season stemmed from fears that he'd get hurt before a possible trade or release. "If he’s injured, they can’t cut him before the money becomes fully guaranteed," Florio reports.
NFL insider Dianna Russini, citing league sources, says that Wilson expects to be cut in March after knowing for months it would be his last year with the team. "It's definitely been tough on me for the past several weeks, knowing it and all that," Wilson admitted. "But at the same time, I love this game and what God has granted me with."
According to Wilson, his attitude and preparation remained status quo throughout the season, despite what he was dealing with. "For me, obviously, I love being out there, I love playing with our guys, doing whatever it takes," he said. "I came here to play here — to win. I knew it was going to be a process. I signed a seven-year deal for us to go and play hard, and that's my goal every time I step in between the white lines, is give everything I have. I want to be here, I want to play here, I want to be able to win here, I want to win championships here, I want to give my all every week — no matter what the circumstances are, no matter what the score is. And I want to be the best teammate and leader I can be in the midst of it all."
Asked if he thought he'd be with the Broncos next season, Wilson said: "I don't know, to be honest with you. I want to be, but I don't know. I didn't know several weeks ago what that would look like, either. But I came here for a reason, and that's to win more championships. That's still my focus. To this day, I'm under contract, and I want to do whatever it takes, and that's why I'm going to practice the right way and do everything the right way and try and do it the right way."
The focus for Wilson right now, he said, is getting new starter Jared Stidham ready to lead Denver's offense. "I told Jared I'll help him and do whatever it takes and keep the guys going and try to lead the right way," Wilson told reporters. "That's all I know. I don't know anything else. ... The approach — no matter if you're the one, if you're the two, no matter what — should never change. I love this game, I love this team, [and] I love the teammates that I got, too."
While Wilson may act like like he's focused on the present and helping Stidham, his recent X (formerly known as Twitter) activity tells a different story.
After being benched on the morning of December 27, the former Seattle Seahawks QB went on a liking spree — "hearting" nearly a dozen posts on X related to his ordeal.
Wilson broke his silence that night, posting this on X: "God's got me. Looking forward to what's next." Even his wife, Ciara, got in on the social media pettiness with a "like" of his post.
God’s got me.
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) December 28, 2023
Looking forward to what’s next.
On Friday evening, Wilson posted a video on X featuring him mic'd up on his last game as a Broncos starter against the New England Patriots last week. "Gratitude, anxiety and worry can't exist at the same," he wrote. "Not simultaneously."
Wilson told reporters Friday that at the end of the day, he felt he had done enough during his second year with the Broncos — including beating the Chiefs for the first time in eight years and leading the team to a five-game winning streak — to justify staying as the permanent starter.Gratitude… Gratitude, anxiety and worry can’t exist at the same time. Not simultaneously. pic.twitter.com/BnXLvZqcPJ
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) December 30, 2023
"I felt like we were doing something special and rolling," Wilson concluded. "Obviously, we've had some tough games — tough close ones — but we still have a chance [at the playoffs]. But at the end of the day, what God's got for me, no matter what it is, I'm going to keep trusting in him. I'm going to keep putting my best foot forward every day, trying to be professional as I can be every day, no matter what the circumstances are; I learned that a long time ago. Every day you wake up, you realize it's a gift to play this game, and I'm grateful for that. And so I hope that [my future is] here, and I hope that it's here for a long time. I hope we win some more silverware in the front hall and we get some more championships. And if it's not here, then I'll be prepared to do that somewhere else. But I hope that it's here, and I really do genuinely mean that. I brought my family here and everything else, but whatever God has got for me, I'm prepared for. I'm just grateful for breath, grateful for life today, and to be able to get to do what I do every day — and that doesn't matter if I'm the one or the two. I get to play the greatest game in the world, and that's what I'm grateful for."
