You Are Ungrateful Human Being Broncos Legend Blasts Russell Wilson
The Russell Wilson era with the Denver Broncos is set to come to an unceremonious end after the franchise announced Tuesday that it plans to release the quarterback on March 13 when the new NFL league year starts. Naturally, plenty of fans and pundits in the NFL world had a lot to say, but one Broncos legend took the opportunity to kick the signal-caller while he was down. “Russell Wilson isn’t a leader,” former Broncos linebacker Karl Mecklenburg said on X (formerly Twitter). “The foolishness that went on in his first year at Denver with a private coach, his own office at the facility, and family at training camp when other players didn’t have those privileges, proved his self centeredness.”
Mecklenburg played his entire 12-year NFL career in Denver where he was a five-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler. In his scathing post, Mecklenburg referred to the special treatment Wilson received in his first year with the team, which ultimately landed the quarterback in hot water because of his lack of production.
In 2022, Wilson threw for just 3,524 yards and 16 touchdowns to 11 interceptions and the Broncos finished 5–12. He showed improvement under new coach Sean Payton in 2023, but it wasn’t enough in the eyes of upper management and definitely not enough for Mecklenburg.
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Russell Wilson can seek out his next team right now
Russell Wilson won’t have to wait to start visiting with other teams.
The soon-to-be-former Denver Broncos quarterback has permission to speak and meet with other teams — in person, in their cities. ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported the news Wednesday morning.
For Russell Wilson, it kick-starts the formal process of finding his next destination. He remains officially on the Broncos roster until next week, when the team will release him as the new league year begins as part of its overall roster restructuring to get into salary-cap compliance and create space to make some additions as free agency gets under way.
WHY THE BRONCOS LET RUSSELL WILSON START THE PROCESS EARLY
By allowing Russell Wilson to have in-person conversations with other teams, the Broncos give Wilson a potential advantage relative to the rest of the quarterback market. Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins and his representation, for example, cannot have “legal tampering” conversations with other teams until Monday, March 11 at 10 a.m. MST, when the legal-tampering period begins.
This could give Wilson the best chance of finding a new team before the market settles.
Some of the teams expected to inquire about Wilson’s services include the Las Vegas Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons, although all have been connected with other quarterbacks. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could be in play if the team does not retain the services of seventh-year quarterback Baker Mayfield, who led them to the divisional round in January.
The Vikings could also be in the mix for Wilson if Cousins departs, although rumblings at the NFL Combine connected them to multiple first-round quarterbacks.
