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Jeff Legwold
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton stated on Wednesday that “absolutely, positively not” was it his intention to cast aspersions on Russell Wilson when he indicated to Giants leadership that he had wished to compete against the one-time Broncos QB instead of rookie Jaxson Dart.
Payton offered the initial statement following the Broncos’ unlikely 33-32 triumph against the Giants on the preceding Sunday.
Wilson offered a response using X on Tuesday, expressing, “Unsportsmanlike… though not shocking…. I was unaware you were still attempting to settle scores from over a decade and a half ago through the press,” accompanied by humorous emojis and “#LetsRide,” a commonly used phrase by Wilson on occasion at the conclusion of his media briefings when a member of the Broncos spanning from 2022 to 2023.
“Indeed I did [see it],” Payton affirmed on Wednesday. “Amidst the excitement and the way that the game played out, it was solely about Dart. It was by no means intended in any way to target Russ. I can perhaps understand his interpretation. Given the outcome of the win and seeing [Dart’s] performance, there was no such intent whatsoever.”
The Broncos amassed 33 points during the fourth quarter on Sunday to rally back from a 19-0 deficit. Dart concluded the game with 15 completions on 33 attempts for 283 yards and three touchdowns. He also conceded a significant interception to Broncos linebacker Justin Strnad with 4:47 remaining and endured four sacks.
“I hold immense respect for [the Giants] establishment,” Payton articulated after the contest. “I invested four of my formative years there, orchestrating a Super Bowl, the inaugural game in this venue before the events of 9/11, and fostering close relationships with the Mara and Tisch families. They’ve experienced a resurgence with that quarterback. I recently spoke with John Mara, and I expressed my hope that the transition would have occurred at a point later than our game.”
Wilson was relegated to the bench subsequent to a Week 3 defeat to Kansas City; Dart has held the starting position since then.
Wilson was dealt by the Seahawks to the Broncos in 2022; however, his tenure in Denver concluded prematurely when Payton benched him with two games remaining in the 2023 season. Wilson, who registered an 11-19 record with the Broncos and did not secure a playoff berth, was eventually released in March of 2024, despite incurring $85 million in dead money.
Some of the animosity might originate from Wilson’s assertion that the Broncos had intimated benching him earlier in the 2023 season if he opted not to relinquish an injury guarantee embedded within his contract. At the time, Wilson possessed a $37 million guarantee contingent upon passing a physical examination on the fifth day of the new league year in March of 2024.
Following Wilson’s departure, Broncos owner/CEO Greg Penner refuted the claim that the team had threatened to bench Wilson concerning the guarantee, stating that it had attempted to negotiate “in good faith” regarding any potential adjustments to the contract. At the time, Wilson conveyed that the NFLPA “became involved” and dispatched a letter to the Broncos, asserting that any such threat would constitute a breach of the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
