It was another year with a losing record for the Denver Broncos and Russell Wilson. The Broncos haven’t made the playoffs since 2015, when Peyton Manning led them to a Super Bowl victory and rode off into the sunset.
Many quarterbacks have attempted to replace Manning’s success in Denver, most recently, Wilson. But Wilson’s best days as a dual-threat quarterback might be behind him, with some critics questioning if he still has a place in the NFL. ESPN personality Dan Orlovsky thinks some are being too critical.
Dan Orlovsky Defends Russell Wilson as a Top-10 QB
On Tuesday morning’s episode of “Get Up” on ESPN, Orlovsky came to the defense of Wilson, who appears to be on his way out of Denver.
“Russell Wilson doesn’t believe in failure,” Orlovsky said. “I think it’s way more likely that Russell goes and plays good football somewhere than he does not play anywhere.
“Wilson was a top-10 quarterback performance-wise for most of last year with a rookie as his number one wideout.”
"Russell Wilson was a top-10 quarterback performance wise for most of the season last year … And we think that he's going to be out of the NFL?"
—@danorlovsky7 on Russell Wilson pic.twitter.com/vRfPXJ05m1
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) February 29, 2024
After a tumultuous ending to Wilson’s season with the Broncos, where he was benched for Jarrett Stidham due to contract injury guarantees, it’s unclear if Wilson will return to Denver and build upon his momentum from this past season.
To Orlovsky’s credit, Wilson did complete over 66% of his passes with the Broncos last season, oftentimes short-handed at receiver. He threw 26 touchdowns and only eight interceptions.
Wilson was a much more efficient QB with Sean Payton than he was in his first year with the Broncos and Nathaniel Hackett.
Orlovsky continues to explain that Wilson went stretches without Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, and Greg Dulcich. Jeudy and Sutton each missed one game, while Dulcich only played two games all season.
Orlovsky says that organizations such as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons would be 11-win teams with Wilson as their starting quarterback.
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From a statistical standpoint, Wilson was playing at a high enough level to avoid being benched. However, intricacies within his expensive contract led Denver to look at Stidham, and now, Wilson’s future in a Broncos uniform is in question.
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