New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is certainly not happy with how the Denver Broncos treated Russell Wilson, but he’s proud of how his NFL peer and fellow QB handled the situation.
For Rodgers, what the Broncos did–threatening to bench him for financial reasons and then eventually sitting him out–is just plain “scandalous.”
While other quarterbacks would remain silent in such situation, though, Wilson spoke about it and was classy throughout, a gesture that Rodgers really admired.
What Happened To Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos?
For those not in the know, the Broncos have decided to bench Wilson starting in their recent Week 17 game. Apparently, it is for financial reasons since they don’t want to trigger the $37 million guaranteed money in his contract in case he gets injured.
Later on, reports surfaced that the Broncos are planning to cut Wilson in the offseason as they look to maintain more financial flexibility and, perhaps, find a quarterback who’ll fit Sean Payton’s system better. Based on his contract, Wilson is guaranteed to make $39 million in 2024.
The whole situation with Wilson is just bizarre, especially since he’s having a comparably better year compared to last season. In fact, Wilson is in the top 10 for touchdown passes and passer rating this 2023. Although obviously that performance hasn’t resulted in many wins for Denver, he’s definitely not just the one to blame for their inconsistencies.
Wilson opened up about the whole controversy after his benching was made public, revealing that the team did approach him last October (after their Week 8 win over the Kansas City Chiefs) about possibly amending his contract or else they would need to bench him.
“They came up to me during the bye week and beginning of the bye week, Monday or Tuesday, they told me if I didn’t change my contract, my injury guarantee, that I’d be benched the rest of the year,” Wilson shared, via FOX Sports.
“I was definitely disappointed about it. It was a process for the whole bye week. We had just come off beating the Chiefs, I was excited for us fighting for the playoffs and getting on a hot streak. The NFLPA and NFL got involved or whatever at some point.”
The veteran quarterback also didn’t hide his disappointment with his benching, adding that it surprised him since he “felt like we were doing something special and rolling.”
Overall, the whole drama has created a bad look for the Denver Broncos. The news about threatening to bench Russell Wilson didn’t sit well to many–with recent news even claiming that they might have to pay extra money in free agency as players are not happy with their action.
Aaron Rodgers Applauds Russell Wilson Amid Denver Broncos Drama
As for Aaron Rodgers, he couldn’t help but commend Wilson for staying classy and speaking up. As mentioned, other QBs would have probably stayed silent and simply asked for a trade away from the team when treated like that, but the 35-year-old instead shared his side of the story.
“I think Russell Wilson has handled what happened in Denver pretty well and I applaud him for speaking on it,” Rodgers shared on The Pat McAfee Show.
“That’s a pretty scandalous situation and he was definitely playing better than he did last year.”
Sure enough, Rodgers’ comments will only further paint the Broncos on a negative light. After all, if they can threaten someone of Wilson’s stature over what appears to be an illegal move, what more can they do with others?
It remains to be seen how the Broncos will handle the situation, but it seems they have a lot more problems to address than just finding a new quarterback in the offseason.