The Denver Broncos are benching Russell Wilson in favor of backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham this week against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Multiple reports said Wednesday that the Broncos were giving serious thought to shutting Wilson down for the final two games to avoid injury, although head coach Sean Payton said Wilson will serve as the backup QB on Sunday.
Stidham draws the start under circumstances that are quite similar to a year ago, when he was with the Las Vegas Raiders, who opted to bench starter Derek Carr under a similar premise.
At issue is Wilson’s long-term future with the Broncos, given his massive contract and mediocre results.
“I spent time with Russ this morning, and he’s been a pro,” Payton said. “Obviously disappointed. All the work that goes into doing what he does, or doing what they do at that position, is difficult and challenging.
“(Regarding) the future, we haven’t had a sit-down. I’m sure we will. (Owner/CEO) Greg (Penner) and I and (general manager) George (Paton) speak frequently, but this is about now. This is about trying to get our eighth win, and we’ll go from there.”
Later Wednesday, Wilson posted to X (formerly Twitter): “God’s got me. Looking forward to what’s next.”
Wilson has a $37 million injury guarantee for 2025 that vests in March and would become unavoidable if he suffered an injury before the end of the season and failed a physical, per the reports. That was the scenario last year for Carr and the Raiders, who released him last February.
“We’re desperately trying to win and sure in our game there are economics and all those other things, but the No. 1 push behind this, and it’s a decision I’m making, is to get a spark offensively,” Payton told reporters Wednesday.
“Obviously it’s difficult. All of us feel like, ‘Man, we didn’t do enough.’ But one of the things we saw when we signed Stidham in the offseason was not only film from preseason games but regular-season games and he’s a guy who I am anxious to see play.
“If I didn’t feel like (Stidham) gave us a chance to win, we wouldn’t be making that move.”
The Broncos (7-8) are hanging on to extremely slim playoff hopes as the 12th seed in the AFC. They have lost three of their past four games after a five-game winning streak thrust them back into the playoff chase. Denver has a 6 percent chance of making the playoffs, per The New York Times’ playoff scenarios.
Payton said the move was in an effort to improve the offensive production across the board.
“It’s more about what we weren’t doing effectively enough offensively,” he said. “When we were getting two or three turnovers, that’s one thing. Ultimately, our job is to get the ball in the end zone, and we have to be more efficient doing that — all of us.”
Wilson, 35, has completed 66.4 percent of his passes for 3,070 yards and 26 touchdowns against eight interceptions in 15 starts this season. He has failed to be the quarterback for the Broncos that he was in Seattle, where he went 104-53-1 as the starter, throwing for 37,059 yards and making nine Pro Bowls in 10 seasons.
Stidham, 27, has appeared in one game this season, mop-up duty in the Broncos’ 42-17 loss at Detroit on Dec. 16.
He went 0-2 starting for Carr last year in his only two NFL starts. Stidham has thrown for 926 yards and six touchdowns against seven interceptions.
“He came here to compete. These guys are competitive by nature,” Payton said. “They haven’t gotten to this level without that confidence in themselves. He’s going to want to play well, and that’s the trait most of these players at this level in our league have.”
