Russell Wilson breaks silence after being benched for rest of NFL season
NFL star Russell Wilson has responded positively to being dropped by the Denver Broncos for the remainder of the season.
The team, currently third in the AFC West with seven wins and eight losses, will proceed without the 35-year-old for the rest of the regular season and it's expected he'll be let go in March.
The Super Bowl winner from 2014 broke his silence on the matter, saying: "God's got me. Looking forward to what's next," According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, the decision to bench Wilson is financially motivated, as the Broncos may look to trade him next year.
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Wilson has a unique £29 million injury clause in his contract, in which he is paid if he is not fit. By limiting his playtime, the Broncos can minimise the risk of him getting injured.
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The team will also have more financial wiggle room if coach Sean Payton and his crew decide to end Wilson's rocky stint as a Broncos player. But in response to the decision, Payton said it was nothing to do with the money.
“I understand all the speculation and everything that surrounds a move like that, and I can tell you we’re desperately trying to win,” Payton said on Wednesday. “Sure, in our game today there are economics and all those other things, but the number one push behind this, and it's a decision I'm making, is to get a spark offensively. Obviously it's difficult, all of us feel like, 'Man, we didn't do well enough'."
Russell Wilson (Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)Payton added: "I spent time with Russ this morning, and he's been a pro and, obviously, disappointed. All of the work that goes into doing what he does and doing what they do in that position, it's difficult.
"It's difficult and challenging and there's a part of you, certainly myself as a head coach, that feels like I needed to be better. He may need to play this weekend, [or] next weekend.
"But in regard to the future, we haven't had a sit-down, and I'm sure we will. Greg [Penner] and I and George [Paton], we speak frequently. But this is about now and trying to get our eighth win and we'll go from there."
Wilson has been benched by the Denver Broncos for the final few games of the regular season (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)Despite a rough start to the season with five losses in their first six games, the Broncos managed to bounce back with five consecutive wins, pushing them into playoff contention. Wilson played a key role in this winning streak, but they've recently lost three of their last four games, including a defeat to the struggling New England Patriots on Christmas Day at Empower Field at Mile High.
Although Wilson has performed better this season than in his first year with the Broncos, he hasn't consistently matched the level he achieved during his time with the Seattle Seahawks. In 15 starts this year, Wilson has completed 66.4% of his passes for 3,070 yards -- his lowest in 12 seasons, along with 26 touchdown passes and eight interceptions.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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