It wasn’t so long ago that Peyton Manning was guiding the Denver Broncos and their elite defense to multiple Super Bowls and they were consistently one of the most dominant teams in the league year after year. However, since Manning’s departure seemingly nothing has gone right for the Broncos as they have landed on a string of six about to be seven straight losing seasons.
Dec. 22, 2013 — Peyton Manning set an NFL record by throwing his 51st touchdown pass of the season, as the Denver Broncos beat the Texans 37–13 in Houston! Denver also captured its 13th AFC West Division Title. TDs: DT (RIP), @EricDecker87 (2), and @Julius_Thomas (record-setter). pic.twitter.com/yyXnym9tqN
— Mile High Moments (@MileHighMoments) December 22, 2023
What has gone wrong? How has this happened? There is virtually no way you can correctly point a finger at a single person in this seven year string of events. One consistent theme through all of these seasons has been the quarterback, a position in which the Denver Broncos has never hit on in the draft in their franchise history outside of the likes of Jay Cutler. Obviously that trend isn’t the sole responsibility of anyone involved, but perhaps a history lesson that is forcing the Broncos to look back at themselves and see where they’ve missed out.
The list of failed Denver Broncos quarterbacks since Peyton Manning departed is quite long, and Russell Wilson is the most expensive consequence of all of them that has now threatened to bury the franchise into a purgatory of mediocrity for some time. Fans can hardly blame the franchise for taking the dive on Wilson once he became available, but there were certainly mistakes made along the way. It was clear and obvious to everyone that Denver was aiming for Aaron Rodgers during the same offseason they acquired Wilson, as shown by their head coach choice of Nathaniel Hackett, and numerous reports that pointed in that direction. Hitting the panic button and sinking your future into a quarterback that a different franchise was eager to move on from, in retrospect may have been a death sentence.
This exchange between Sean Payton and Russell Wilson looks a lot different now … pic.twitter.com/xEoajLlv7p
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) December 28, 2023
Since acquiring Wilson the Broncos have looked like one of the worst teams in the league, and while new head coach Sean Payton (who they also gave away a first round pick for) has certainly made the team look functional it’s clear he could not save this roster or this quarterback from the inevitable. With Wilson being benched this week and in all likelihood being cut in the offseason, what do the Denver Broncos have to lean on but their head coach? How long will that realistically last given the roster Payton has to deal with.
Russell Wilson talks with the media for the first time since being benched. He addresses the conversations had in October about being asked to change his injury guarantees, his disappointment, his mentality going forward and his future.
His full availability: pic.twitter.com/U90MTKwwUA
— Romi Bean (@Romi_Bean) December 29, 2023
It is going to be imperative that Denver does not panic and that they add depth to a roster that is seriously lacking. You almost have to hit a reset button and declare everyone is for sale to try and salvage a competitive future in the next five years. There are not a ton of stars on this team, and the ones that they do have in the likes of Patrick Surtain, should seriously be considered to be swapped for draft capital.
This is going to be a very painful lesson for a historically successful franchise. This new ownership needs to find out of they have the right coach before the hit the panic button on their next quarterback, and their current coach needs to build this roster from the ground up once again lest the team be stricken with another half decade of mediocrity.
