Russell Wilson simply wasn't a good fit in Denver, says Broncos legend Ed McCaffrey.
Wilson joined the Broncos from the Seattle Seahawks in a blockbuster trade ahead of the 2022 NFL season, but in his two seasons in Denver he failed to lead the team to a playoff appearance. The end of the 2023 campaign was a particularly forgettable stretch for the 35-year-old as he fell out of favour with head coach Sean Payton and was benched for the final two games.
That was the end of Wilson's time as a member of the Broncos as he was released in March and subsequently signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, while the Broncos drafted Bo Nix to be the new No. 1 pivot as Payton takes his team in a new direction.
For McCaffrey, Wilson's unsuccessful tenure in Colorado wasn't the fault of either side, but rather just an unsuitable pairing.
"Sometimes it’s just not a great fit," McCaffrey told Betway. "Russell Wilson’s a nine-time Pro Bowler, he’s been to two Super Bowls, won one, and he’s had almost 50,000 passing yards in his career.
"He was in a different offence in Seattle, he was on the Broncos for a couple of years and I thought he showed a lot of improvement from his first year to his second.
"There were huge expectations he first signed, a new head coach (Nathaniel Hackett), new play caller, and then all of a sudden your coach is fired. Now you’ve got another new head coach {Payton) on a team that’s rebuilding and let go of a lot of veteran players and revamped some positions with a lot of young players. There was improvement, but I believe the Denver Broncos felt it was time to find the franchise quarterback for the future.
"I do think Russell has a chance to have success in in Pittsburgh. Mike Tomlin’s never had a losing record, they’re typically a nine or 10-win team. They’re looking to turn the corner, but they’re in a very tough division.
"Russell earned the job, even though he was in a little bit of a competition with Justin Fields, but they’re going to expect big things from him. Mike Tomlin is not a guy that minces his words, so Russell Wilson is the guy but he’s got to continue to play at a high level, and he knows that."
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