Russell Wilson has been warned that he will have to fight for his future with the Denver Broncos.
The 2023 season will see new head coach Sean Payton in charge of the team. The Broncos agreed a trade with the New Orleans Saints to bring in Payton as their head coach, replacing Jerry Rosburg who was in interim charge at the end of last season.
Payton has already begun ringing the changes since his arrival in February. One such change was made clear in his first press conference, when he stated no outside coaches will be allowed, including Wilson’s personal quarterback coach.
As the off-season organized team activities (OTA) continues to take place, which includes the rookies picked in the 2023 NFL draft, Wilson is also beginning to work with his new coach. But now he has been sent a warning over his future in Denver.
Former general manager and current ESPN analyst Mike Tannenbaum has provided some insight into how Payton picks his teams. With this, Tannenbaum believes that Wilson will have to play his best football in order to be selected by Payton.
“Let me take you behind the curtain.” Tanenbaum told ESPN's Get Up. “The first meeting in Denver, I worked with coach Parcells in 1997 with the New York Jets - Sean Payton worked with Bill Parcells.
“Here is exactly what he said: ‘fellas, I go by what I see. The best players will play’.
“Russell Wilson isn’t fighting for his legacy, he’s fighting for his job. He (Payton) couldn’t care about salary cap charge or money, the best players will play.
“They (Denver) will draft his replacement if he (Wilson) doesn’t do everything he (Payton) says from day one.
“If you go back to his press conference, Sean Payton talked about there will be no outside coaches or mentors in the building. He (Payton) is the new sheriff in town, and is beholden to no one, including Russell Wilson’s guaranteed money.”
Wilson signed a new five-year contract with the Broncos last year which sees him earn a guaranteed $165m (£134m) and up to $245m (£198m) in total. That sees him as the fourth highest paid QB in the NFL behind only Deshaun Watson ($230m - £186m), Lamar Jackson ($185m - £150m), and Jalen Hurts ($179m - £145m) in terms of guaranteed money over the length of their contracts.
With Payton casting his eye over his players during the OTA over the last couple of weeks, he is already impressed with what he has seen from Wilson. The Broncos head coach says that the QB is already getting up to speed with how he wants his offence to look in 2023.
"These guys are doing well, and (Wilson is) picking it up -- the timing and all of those things that are required," said Payton. "For the first five weeks, we were just lifting and running. Now we're getting into some football activity.
“We are ahead of schedule on the practice. He's picking it up good -- he looks good and looks sharp."
