There’s no easier target in the NFL right now than Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, to the point of having a teammate groan himself at a lukewarm rumor about his professional life.
Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy was not happy to see an aggregate report that Wilson has an office and private parking lot at the team facility stemming from a rant by Shannon Sharpe on Fox Sports ‘undisputed.’ In particular, Sharpe objected to Wilson’s perceived first-person attitude and said the team’s next head coach should take his office and parking lot away from him.
However, Jeudy reacted strangely. He began by criticizing “misstatements” about Wilson — likely that, according to Sharpe, the quarterback “cheated a lot of people” with his attitude — and in the next sentence conceded that Wilson does indeed have an office.
Seriously, just read this thing:
To be fair to Wilson and Jeudy, the idea of Wilson having his own office and parking lot should be a far cry from the Broncos’ biggest concern right now. We don’t know how Wilson uses that office, or how often, or if he’s the only quarterback out there that has one.
However, it’s also quite possible that Jeudy loved having Wilson as a teammate, but other Broncos players weren’t so thrilled. For a man who has in the past been nagged by teammates about being given special treatment, with an office and parking lot he fits seamlessly into an unflattering narrative that’s kicked into high gear this season.
Office or not, the Broncos definitely need to figure out how to handle Wilson. The team fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett on Monday after a season that went from disappointing to downright embarrassing very quickly, but removing Wilson will be much more difficult in the years to come.
The veteran signed a contract extension last offseason, tying him to the Broncos for the next seven seasons in total compensation of $296 million and $161 million in new guaranteed money. The earliest the team could realistically let him go is 2025, when he’s carrying $49.6 million in dead money versus a $55.4 million cap hit per Spotrac.
At this point, the Broncos might want Wilson to stay in his office for as long as he wants.
Jerry Jeudy says Russell Wilson is a good teammate. How many other Broncos players agree? (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)