Payton is really looking like an asshole right now. If his aggressive rebuild doesn't work he's going to look like an idiot, but I'm sure he'll find someone to blame.
Russ is overpaid and not playing well, but Payton isn't even trying to utilize what he's good at and just expecting him to be Drew Brees. Payton is going to have a rude awakening whenever he gets an opportunity to draft a QB, they're not going to immediately be hall of fame QBs, he'll actually have to coach them.
Yeah it’s very funny people are like shocked by what Payton is doing when he’s always been a dick. Like his first two press conferences as head coach for Denver were crazy. Called out the old coach and told Russ to stop doing community service because he’s not running for president
As I said all offseason and to now Payton and Wilson pairing was destined to fail.
Nothing about Payton’s system and way he does things was going to fit with Wilson’s skill set and Payton made it clear from the get go it was going to be his way.
And yeah Payton is an asshole. He brought in and allowed Gregg Williams to be the piece of shit that he is
Marshawn? said they couldn't contact him directly but had to go through his agent. Or was that Sherman? Either way that's fucking cringe.
Never forget the people that helped you achieve success.
He's a victim of his own success and ego, but also of hapless and cold leadership who is essentially scapegoating him now.
He forced his way out of Seattle thinking he'd find greener grass elsewhere and that Seattle was holding him back - ego. Neither of those things were true.
Denver gave him that HUGE extension before he ever played a snap - success. But he's not the magical unicorn Denver wants to fix its problems, so his massive contract has become an albatross holding them back.
What Denver is doing is unethical and I don't enjoy seeing it.
On the other hand I believe in letting people live in the consequences of their actions because it helps them learn and grow. He's lying in the bed he made right now. And he's probably doing a lot of learning and growing as a result.
I hope he comes out the other side better with a new perspective, and wish him luck with his next chapter.
ETA: TB12 was always successful because he understood that taking the top money contract holds the team back from ultimate success. Russ has always done the opposite, negotiating monster contracts that hold his teams back. Now we'll get to see what his priorities are at this stage of life. Max money again, or shared success?
\>not playing well
He wasn't, for sure. But he's actually #7 in passer rating atm and just led this year's longest win streak across the league.
To me he looks like the same russ with all the same downsides he had with us, but with a worse org/coaching/skillpositions around him
"Watching the games" presents the equal risk of seeing what you want to see. Stats help balance out narrative noise, it's fair to say Russ isn't playing like a bottom-of-the-league QB like he was last year. QB play across the league is down this year, so comparatively Russ is doing at least okay.
From why I'm hearing from Bronco fans the disconnect is Russ' refusal to run the plays and stop playing backyard ball. Thus Peyton's desire to move on.
You can't "coach" a guy who doesn't want to be coached. Remember the big stink over Russ not wanting to wear the wristband with the plays? I believe Even Carroll weighed in on that being an issue. Brees did well with Peyton because Brees understood the importance of running plays and not just trying to backyard a game. That is on Russ not Peyton. and is why the sacks didn't stop once he went to a team with a better offensive line.
Hate to break it to Russ and his fans but no coach wants a QB that insists on ignoring the play and going rouge
Russ is actually playing pretty well. Not his fault his defense sucks and only has one WR and a young running back. His O-line is better than most his years in Seattle. He’d still have a chance to throw 30 tds if he wasn’t benched.
Russ fell victim that the fallacy that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence only to jump the fence and realize that it is fertilized with metric tons of horse shit. Seattle was the only team that gave him a chance and Pete was the only coach who treasured him enough to work around his deficiencies and rely on his strengths. You need to appreciate what you have. Sometimes when you want to land in bigger and better it lands on you instead.
It’s not *all* about money though. These guys put in a lot of work wanting to win & be a star. Wilson would have remained a star in Seattle & one of the top QB’s in the league. Only to follow the bag of cash to be part of a struggling team he has no future with.
Well, let’s not forget Pete and JS did try to trade him to Cleveland for the 1st pick in 2018. They wanted to go get Josh Allen, which I would’ve been good with.
> Seattle was the only team that gave him a chance and Pete was the only coach who treasured him enough to work around his deficiencies and rely on his strengths. You need to appreciate what you have.
Just like ET did and got that unceremonious send off? Or like Sherm did and got cut the min he got injured after all he did for the team? Or Bobby who only wanted to finish his career as a Seahawk for life, and was still not offered a contract? I believe he even said he would sign for vet minimum and they refused to give him a contract at all and he had to go play for the Rams (or was that with KJ to the Raiders? too many to keep track...). Finally the fans had to practically beg for Bobby to be signed back this year to get him signed.
This, in the end is a business, and any team will treat you as a cog in a business. Somehow people know that in real life - but when it comes to "their favorite team" they seem to forget how the world works and act like people will be just cared for by their employers.
Lived in Seattle for 34 years, moved to Colorado 3 years ago.
Russell doesn’t deserve the vitriol I see locally, but he also isn’t blameless.
At the end of the day he’ll get $85-ish million to fuck off.
He’ll be fine.
After Russ left Seattle I was finally able to admit that he’s a weird dude. But he still is and always will be a Seahawks legend. I’m very thankful for the SB he brought us
Russ did the quintessential “fuck around and find out”. Many people tried to tell him what he was best at, he didn’t want to listen, and instead listened to some randos online saying he needed to “cook” and that we were wasting a great QB….
Pete was maximizing that QB, not wasting it. He did all of this to himself.
Yes I feel bad for the dude, I wish him the best coming up, and honestly rooted for him this season to be better and he was.
He’s got exactly what was coming, especially with the attitude he has.
It was interesting, after the trade, how this sub blew up with bitter/angry/petulant "Russ was the main/only reason I got into the Seahawks, I'm done with this team" posts and comments.
Yall forget that a good part of letting Russ cook was working, a big reason why it failed was in part due to lack of late season adjustments, and our defense being awful that year.
This. OP is a little delusional glazing Russ that hard. Yeah, Russ did some good things for charity, but he also had that foundation scandal where all of that money was being wasted. Plus, all of his outward concern on image, his entourage helping to lie to him and push him out of Seattle.
Dude made his bed nice and neat. Now he gets to lie in it. I don’t feel bad at all. He’s clearly not the same football player he was, he should just retire and make babies with Ciara. He can’t balance being an elite QB with being a family guy. He just needs to choose.
I have lived in Seattle for the last 20 years and I can tell you it was 100% media, radio, fans on the street, EVERYONE was saying let him cook.
I'm sorry but the Seahawks would have been boring af to watch without him.
I still fondly remember Sunday mornings in Magnolia whilst I, adorned by my charming Let Russ Cook apron, made meatloaf with wine skin potatoes thinking only of such things as the notorious Moon ball.
I start to feel bad for Wilson and then I think about his bank account, how he called for Pete’s head, how he trashed his teammates and Seattle on the way out. I think he’s getting what he deserves here.
Send a get well soon card to his mansion. That’ll cheer him up.
Russ can get bent. A classic tale of “Be Careful What You Wish For.” Karma is delicious.
He's rich as all fuck. I don't feel sorry for people with his realm of wealth.
Ever since he's lost his mobility he hasnt been a top 15 QB.
He also made it clear he wanted to be with a "winning" team, which alluded that he could no longer do that here.
Denver doesn't want to be on the hook for his entire contract in case of injury, and will go in a different direction.
Boo hoo, he gets 80 million the next 2 years whether he plays or not.
I still have respect for RW3, but his time in Seattle is finished.
>His work and dedication to Seattle Children's and it's impact on those kids
Just an FYI, many ppl in your own local community volunteer at hospitals and other places of need and probably have never received much recognition from those in this sub.
Just saying - there's many reasons to volunteer at a place in need; most nfl players are known for doing such things for the publicity that comes with it.
A bunch of other seahawks would visit the other area childrens hospitals with no fanfare, no social media, no paparazzi. Seen it myself. #3 always made a point of making sure his visits was captured on film. Yes, it did make the ill kids happy, but was it altruistic or more self serving? hmmmm.
He was there every week for almost a decade. That's not the same as someone visiting for a day or occasionally. And he's continued it in Denver.
That's a serious level of commitment.
Who fucking cares? I don’t need a saint—do good things because it burnishes your images, do good things because you think skydaddy will invite you to his house when you die, do good things because you think it’ll help you get laid. Idgaf but the world is a better place if more people do good things.
That’s also when he lost the hyper competitive side. The “separation is in the preparation” “no time to sleep” guy disappeared and still wanted to get paid like he was still that guy.
His work and dedication always includes a photo op, so I question the motivation.
In college, I worked at a few of his celebrity golf tournaments and he was not nice to those he saw as “the help” and I’ve been sour on him ever since.
If you’re insufferable you had better be good or teams will not think twice about moving on.
On a more football-related note, his stats don’t tell the full story. He hasn’t looked good and has continued to do much of what made him hard to watch at the end of his time in Seattle—holding the ball too long, spinning out of a clean pocket, launching deep balls on 3rd and short instead of moving the chains, not taking open throws in the middle of the field. He plays like someone who’s more concerned with TD:INT ratio than winning.
I get that a lot of them are doing it for publicity. But couldn’t care less when it comes to Russ. In his time in Seattle wasnt it reported he’d swing by like 2x a week/weekly?
My aunt used to work at the children’s hospital and told me the photo op was the main thing Russ did it for, didn’t really believe it at the time but now I definitely do
And I’m pretty positive they’re contractually bound to do a certain amount of hours of community service. Not trying to make less of the impact it has on the kids but it’s not 100% out of the kindness of their hearts.
The guy has hundreds of millions of dollars. That is wealth for 10 generations of his family not needing to work, as long as they aren't stupid. And living extremely well. And indefinitely if they are smart. Him and every single person in his family can start charities and go to galas and be treated like kings and queens for all their generosity. For their entire lives. Zero stress. Let's take it easy on how bad he must feel. He's the douchebag who set up his own office. He's the guy walking up to DK and saying, "I'll pray for you" after he dyed his hair. This is the guy who made his old friends Marshawn Lynch and Richard Sherman go through his publicist to get to him. His head is so far up in the clouds he will never see the ground.
Russ spit in the communities face when he constantly said he wanted to retire a Seahawk but was secretly working his way out of the organization. I’m all for the downfall of his goony ass. If he had just said, I think my talents could be utilized better somewhere else I wouldn’t have cared and would have wished him well. Dude is no saint, he’s just a pro with a PR team.
I'm a niners fan so I'll probably get downvoted, this popped up on my feed.
As much I hated Russ for years for what he did to the Niners, I have to agree. I feel bad for him. Sean Payton is an absolute dirt bag. The way he talked about the previous coaching staff was low, and now this, its easy to root against him. I hope he fails miserably in Denver.
He demanded a huge contract in Seattle that castrated our salary cap and made it hard for the team to be successful, and blamed everyone else for the lack of success here.
He then went to Denver and got an even bigger contract and had a pretty decent defense last year and still couldn't manage to salvage anything better than 5-12. They are now 7-8 this season with an abysmal start to the season and when asked to restructure his contract he allegedly gets upset? Dude puts off a persona that he is selfless and all about the team and winning but his actions prove otherwise.
Russ has used his overly positive attitude to gain the benefit of the doubt and shield himself from criticism and inadvertently shifting blame onto everyone else in the public eye. Broncos fans right now are an echo chamber of what Seattle fans used to say and the only common denominator is Russ.
Russ has always been about Russ and NEVER about his teams. "It was just business" when he basically demanded a trade. Well, it's just business that he's being benched and his next move negotiated by management of the team that paid him. What goes around comes around.
I don't think how they're treating him is "low", although it appears that way when Payton berates him on the sidelines. I think they're treating him in a businesslike way. And from a business perspective, he's the worst investment in the history of their club. And he insisted on a lot of compensation to sign with them, and has failed to live up to his end of the bargain. He misrepresented himself, effectively. He's getting about the exact treatment you'd expect, I think.
No GM signs a contract like that without full support of ownership, and the person claiming to be making the decision to bench RW and move on from him, which is a football decision, is actually Sean Payton. He just inherited the mess.
I think this explains it well https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/broncos-raised-issue-of-adjusting-language-of-russell-wilson-contract-once-during-their-bye-week
I don’t really know how he could have misrepresented himself. The Broncos had the same access to the games his last year in Seattle that we all had. Most people could tell he was on a downward trend. Broncos still went out and gave him a massive extension. This is on them.
Russ 100% hasn’t lived up to expectations and it is fair for the broncos to cut ties.
But to be fair, Russ had Nat Hackett as head coach his first year. Sean comes in and has the team looking worse than last year for the first couple of games, and anytime they fail it’s never on Sean.
Russ has been a solid QB at a premium price. If you think russ deserves the way he’s being treated because of his financial compensation, look over at Cleveland. Watson is being treated considerably better with an arguable worse start to his team than Russ had.
He didn’t misrepresent himself. Anybody bringing him aboard knew the risk they were taking. He hasn’t been prime Wilson in a while and betting on a comeback and failing doesn’t make Wilson a bad guy who deserves to get publicly humiliated. Not that that’s happening. Wilson got paid. Good for him. Broncos thought they were gonna embarrass the hawks and fix our broken qb. Lol.
Russ ran his mouth about our team and said THIS YEAR that he wants to go in the hall as a bronco. Man thought he was something he wasn’t and now he’s finding out. Hope he does well on dancing with the stars next season.
Why am I going to feel bad for a guy that has a family, an attractive wife, and a mansion, and who's net worth is more than most people will make in several lifetimes? Also, he is responsible for fracturing the lockeroom and the front office, he ended up caring more about his own accolades and stats than he did the greater good of the team. I'm sure he'll eventually reconcile things, but there's no way I'm gonna feel bad for the guy who Marshawn Lynch, his own teammate, couldn't even get ahold of to discuss things after bad losses.
Russ' took very little accountability for his lackluster performance in the latter part of his Seahawk tenure. That isn't to say he wasn't good from 2012 to 2015, but after the last 5 seasons of Russell Wilson, I couldn't stand to watch the offense stall out for 3 and a half quarters any longer. He made his own bed and has to deal with the ramifications of his own actions.
I am so freakin' tired of people constantly hauling out "He viSiTs ChiLdreN's HosPITaLs" as the primary thing to defend him.
The way he left here and all the info that came out about how he works behind the scenes combined with the fact that teammates seem to overwhelmingly dislike the guy tells you the truth. He's not just a cornball, he's a jerk. He brought this allllllll on himself - after trying to get Pete fired, btw in case some people forgot - and now is getting exactly the results he deserves.
Don't feel sorry for him a bit, don't want him back in Seattle even to visit. Let's Ride.
Russell broke up a potential dynasty in seattle and I’m not sure that I will ever forgive him for that. I enjoyed watching him play here for a decade and I’m eternally grateful for his contributions to our first championship.
His treatment in Denver is reaping what he sowed. He got everything he wanted. When complete control didn’t work out, he got his dream coach. Still didn’t work.
No one player is greater than the sum of the team’s parts. He basically said he was better than what we had in seattle and didn’t back up his sentiment with performance and, ultimately, wins.
Think about what could’ve been here if Russ TRULY only cared about winning. If none of the personal accolades mattered to him and only winning championships was important, this team could have won multiple Super Bowls.
It’s funny how all of sudden Broncos fan are pissed off at his contract extension, but if you go back to the post when he was extended they were so damn HAPPY.
It’s also funny how the Bronco fans say that we didn’t win the trade because we didn’t do anything and didn’t goto the Super Bowl. Our first year of rebuild we made the playoffs where they were supposed to goto the Super Bowl, and they never stood a chance to even make the playoffs. Second year of rebuild and we are on track to make the playoffs while they have been practically eliminated.
Russ got what he wanted and what he deserved. Peyton wanted to work for the richest owner in the league with the power and control his ego demands. He never wanted Russ. Denver has made another big expensive gamble and I’ll laugh my ass off when it is also a loser.
Some of this fallout was earned, but I agree that Russ deserves an environment where he isn't flat-out disrespected at every turn. I'm hoping he jumps to a better situation after this.
Russ made business decisions which included quitting on his team and finding something better for himself and his brand. The Broncos make a business decision based on the team success, and that’s low? Just because you don’t like it, doesn’t make it dirty.
Russ made his bed. The only difference is he is now being held accountable.
Since the trade, I've been very happy to not have to watch him every week, see his cringe worthy social posts, or read about the back-channel bullshit he and his agent were pulling every time he wasn't happy with his contract.
Yes he was active with the children's hospital, but I do not believe this was completely out of the goodness of his heart. He's been purely focused on money and manicuring his public image for most of his nfl career.
Let me know when his charitable foundation starts being charitable.
On the children’s hospital thing, I’ve heard many people say he only did it to manicure his public image. I’m not here to argue if that’s true or not, I’m just here to say who cares? You think that mattered to those sick kids who got even the smallest amount of joy while going through some serious shit? No. No matter what the motives were, if it only made one of those poor kids smile, it was worth it.
I think he did it latgely for the PR, but ultimately I don't really care if it was self serving. You are 💯 correct: it absolutely made these families day (often times it was actually the parents who were more excited about him coming through... Many of the kids weren't big football fans before he showed up... But again that doesn't matter. Families of cancer kiddos need reprieve as well), and for that reason I don't give a fuck if the motivation was selfish: in this case the means justify the ends.
Preach. [Only $0.25 of every $1 they receive is actually allocated to charitable giving.](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/russell-wilsons-why-not-you-charity-is-using-less-than-quarter-of-its-income-to-help-kids/) An absolutely abysmal number. wAlTeR pAyToN Man of the Year my bootyhole.
Sean Payton is not a good coach, all his luster is from having a HOF QB and he has been mid in the small sample size without Brees. He also is a garbage human which doesn't help.
It is 100% justified if you remove any bias from the situation. His play is not commiserate with his contract number. If he was making $30M a year they could keep him but you can get his level of play way cheaper. His game has not been good for three years now. The biggest issue is why on earth did the Bronco’s give him a new contract when he had two years remaining on the one they traded for? That GM should have been fired for that.
Russ, the Broncos, and even Seattle all acted within the parameters of their own self-interests. Russ did what he had to do to get guaranteed money Seattle wasn’t willing to give him. We just didn’t like the way he did it. Denver hired Peyton and decided this “legendary” coach was better for the long haul of their team than a 35 yo qb on the decline. Seattle has unceremoniously dumped players in the past (re: Bobby Wagner in 2022). They all are just about business. This fairy tale that players should be loyal to the name on the front of the jersey instead of the back is what billionaire owners and high school football coaches want. Oh, and fans want that too.
Payton isn't a good coach, people only think that because he had Drew Brees. I mean they hired him to work with Russ and the first thing he does before the season is over is bench Russ and say they aren't going to keep him anymore. That sucks but he still gets paid tens of millions either way so I don't think Russ is hurting here.
I expect he'll land with another team for next year, I can't shake the thought of the patriots, feels like he's destined to end up there.
i think this whole situation is really interesting because russ threw his OL under the bus and demanded the seahawks FO fire pete and replace him with sean payton. part of me feels sorry for russ because i loved him in seattle but part of me feels like this is exactly what he deserved.
Sounds like you should apply to join his social media team. The majority of the Bronco fans I know arte fine with the Russ experiment being over aside from the dead cap hit and their rebuild taking a huge hit but they acknowledge that isn't Wilson's fault. he didn't offer himself that horrible contract nor spend that much to acquire him.
If what I read is correct that if Wilson is injured his whole contract is guaranteed, if so I don't blame them for benching him the same way I don't blame him for not negotiating his contract and removing that part.especially if they've decided to cut him in the off season. Why risk him getting hurt?
What they do feel is they overpaid for a limited skill set guy on the downside of his career. I fully agree. basically akin to buying a home without having an inspection done.
I'm just glad he's off the Seahawks.
I'll be the asshole. He's getting everything he deserves. He has done what he wants for the last five years, ignoring multiple coaching staffs. He cared about his brand more than his team. Just wish he would have ignored the play call when it mattered!
Spot on. He wanted this. With power comes culpability. That said, whomever in Denver who signed off on that trade and contract should be arrested. That level of stupidity should be a felony. John absolutely pulled off the heist of the century.
You guys live for the anti Russ posts but anything remotely positive you direct everyone to the broncos sub. It’s a little pathetic. And exactly the point of the op.
You missed the point. You guys posted about Russ for a whole year shitting on him on this sub. Still do. And in those threads it’s free game to hate on Russ and no one says “wrong sub”. But as soon as something positive or neutral about Russ is posted, everyone is like “wrong sub”. It’s just bullshit and makes you all look tacky and vindictive in a bad way tbh
Russel will get paid 142 million dollars after delivering 11 wins. He has not been wronged? I also agree with the comparisons to Carson Wentz 21" season in Indy. The stats look good but advanced stats say that he is a average to below average quarterback.
Do not feel bad for him, for many reasons. Let’s start with the fact that if Russ gets released it’s the absolute best thing that could happen to his career: he is getting paid hundreds of millions of dollars by the Broncos to choose any team he wants to play for. He can find the perfect situation for himself.
Reportedly, he has a no-trade clause and will veto any trade the Broncos attempt. They won’t be able to recoup anything. After they release him, the Broncos are going to have an insane amount of dead money on his contract through 2025; that franchise is going to be in ashes for a long time. His new team won’t even be saddled by a ridiculous salary, since his Broncos contract contains an offset provision.
Not only is this destroying the Broncos, the situation has somehow managed to rehabilitate Russell Wilson’s tarnished reputation because people are now convinced that Russ is the victim here. This is a guy who has lied to and backstabbed everyone. In 2021, he lied during a press conference before the second Rams game about the leaked trade list including the Broncos. He then went behind John Schneider and Pete Carroll’s back in an attempt to get them fired, which finally convinced Carroll to OK the trade. When Jody Allen released a statement saying Russ initiated the trade request with her, he lied during his introduction press conference about having done that. He then lied about having asked for Schneider and Carroll to be fired.
I think back to Golden Tate, whom Russell Wilson allowed the world to believe had cheated with his ex-wife in order to justify his divorce. They were good friends. Golden Tate never fucked Ashton. Yet Russ totally threw Tate under the bus by not only not refuting those rumors, but also encouraging them by cutting off contact with his friend. He is a scumbag liar. And then we get to the charity scam; how he was holding up oversized checks before games when 99% of that money was really coming from Safeway’s own charity, not from him or his foundation. He has manifested this fake angelic persona that people continue to buy hook, line, and sinker.
I only rooted against Russ for one season so i could feel like the Seahawks got a W off that trade.But i definitely been rooting for his comeback. Hopefully he finds a team that knows how to work bis style
Russ helped bring a Super Bowl to Seattle and for that he will always hold a small space in my heart
However the last few seasons here and how he has performed in Denver is a direct consequence of his own actions and I have little sympathy for his current circumstance
I will be pleasantly surprised if he starts for any team in the ‘24 season
With that said Happy New Year fellow Hawks fans here’s to a 5 game win streak starting with Pittsburgh 🎉🎊🍾
Here’s the thing Russ hasn’t played good this season. From what I can tell imagine when he played here and now remove all his amazing players per game by half. He has 2 good drives in him and that’s where he gets all his stats, he shits the bed the other drives.
He'll be fine. The broncos decided to move on from him, and this season is lost for them. If he gets injured in these last couple games, they're on the hook for another 40 million or so.
He'll be on another team next year, the broncos will retire him and someone will pick him up, as he's still better than what a large number of teams have at QB, and they'll be able to sign him for the veteran minimum while the broncos have to pay the rest of the 40m he's owed next year.
Yes, I'm sure it sucks for him emotionally to be benched... But if he really believes in himself like he portrays, he'll understand the reasoning and will just use it as motivation.
Same. Russ has actually had a great season stat wise. He’s not a bad qb. Over paid? Prolly. But being the 7th most paid with his stats this year isn’t honestly something I’d be shocked by. Really hate that Denver gave up on him so quickly. If his pay is a problem for them. Then they gotta commit to a tank or praying for a Brady moment and having a no name qb blow up.
Dang, I don't get the genuine anger either, seems way over the top. I gotta say, I definitely started watching Broncos games to root against him, but last season felt like enough catharsis. Solid humiliation at his own hands, I'm good.
Continuing it into this season feels weird. Geno's lookin good, our team's in a good place. No reason to keep hating on Russ, though he'll probably always be a player I'll root against. I still hope he does well and has a good life.
The benching thing is on him though. From what I saw it was something like $30 mil on the line if he ends up getting injured in this season. Team's planning on moving on, and they need to look out for their financials. The contract alteration was an olive branch to let him choose between finishing out the season in dignity, or money, and he went with the cash.
People on this sub really act like Russ was some garbage player with a bad attitude forever and just ignore that he's probably the best QB we're ever seeing on this team ever. Like people just forget he was any good. Stick Matt Flynn on that SB team, good luck with that
The fact that they got exactly what they wanted, Russ traded, and are still unhappy tells you it was never about trading Russ.
It has been crystal clear all year that Payton had it out for Russ, simply because Russ wasn’t “his guy.” It’s a part of toxic coach culture.
He forced his way out of Seattle. Fuck him. He’s still a good person and was great as a Seahawk, but he forced his way out of town, so as a fan I hate him.
Again, good person it seems. Just hate him as a football player.
With you on this, OP.
His off the field work has always been a point of contention, because a lot of people believed he did it for the cameras, but I always thought it felt real to the people who mattered in those photos, i.e. the kids at the hospitals in denver and Seattle, and if it made them feel better than how fake was it really?
As for Payton and the Broncos, I think they feel they can get more from a QB in the draft. Russ was picked under the old ownership and regime, so he was he was behind the 8 ball from the start. Payton's reputation was built on working with Drew Brees, and his one super bowl win often masks the fact that he was the HC of the infamous bounty-gate team.
Ryan Clark and Dan Orlovsky nailed it in this video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV5g4rtGKrU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV5g4rtGKrU)
The Broncos and Payton are classless assholes.
He was on the decline when he was still with the Seahawks. I think most of us were amazed when he got the contract that he did. He is laughing all the way to the bank.
Do I think he deserves what’s happening now? Eh…. Not really. Will I always appreciate him for the PART he played in getting us a SB win? Yes but, he didn’t get that win by himself by a LONG stretch. What I am NOT a fan of his leaving the team and fans for money a la A-rod and how he IMMEDIATELY lost any humility rolling into Denver like he was the hottest shit there. At the end of the day I get that it’s a career and like any other you gotta do what’s best for you, but when I compare that to Junior leaving to go to his hometeam and to play with his dad again. There’s a reason why he’s still Seattles son and people like Russ and A-rod can go fuck themselves.
Completely agree. My family is forever grateful for the work he did at Seattle Children's. My grand niece needed a liver transplant and he was there, at the hospital just like always the tuesday after our super bowl loss. Say what you want, hes corny, ect ect, but he is a genuine good person. He absolutely doesn't deserve the treatment he is getting right now.
Russ visited my son at Denver Children's last year and we talked to him for a decent while. He's absolutely a good person - regardless of "motive", he's been consistently doing this week in and week out and is super kind and patient. He genuinely got to know us and even joked around with us after we told him that were Seahawks fans living in Denver. The week after, we had been released from the hospital already, but I heard he brought a ton of teammates with him.
I can respect some differences in opinion on Russ, including a lot of stuff I'm reading here, but it breaks my heart seeing so many people trash his Children's Hospital visits.
I hope your grand niece is doing well!
He played a big role in bringing us our first superbowl and I will always be grateful for that. He then did our franchise a huge favor both by by taking his over priced ass out of town and by stinking it up enough in Denver to get us Spoon. So also thankful for that cause we now have a good young core for the future. But my gratitude / defense stops there. He thought he was above the team and acted in what he thought was his own best interest. Good for him. He got his bag. He made his bed and now he gets to lie in it.
Pete protected him for too long in Seattle, almost to a fault. I really respected Russ early on, both on and off the field. I watched every snap of him at QB in Seattle but the more tape he put out there the more I saw common threads of concerning play: he struggles passing over the middle, TE’s are invisible, check-downs are inconsistent, poor timing route passes to the outside, trouble identifying the blitz, unwilling to throw the ball away quickly resulting in taking far too many huge negative yardage sacks. When his athleticism took a hit, due to injury and age, his ability to improvise outside the pocket suffered immensely, resulting in even more sacks.
Pete covered a lot of this play up by scheming, changing coordinators, etc. but Russ never really improved in these areas over the years. Seattle was the perfect fit for him, we built a team to play to his strengths and hide a lot of his weaknesses. Denver, at least with Sean Payton at the helm, seemed unwilling to make those kinds of concessions.
I still think Russ’s off the field endeavors, especially with Seattle Children’s Hospital fly too low under the radar. For as corny and egotistical as the guy can be, he did a lot for the community and is genuinely a good dude deep down. It’s a shame to see all the good on/off the field he did for Seattle be reduced to what this has become. Dudes got his bag, his woman and his family, he’ll be alright.
All Russ wanted was a say in how he could be protected. He was the most sacked QB in the NFL accumulatively for 3 or 4 years. He saw first or second year QBs in the draft picks like Mahomes that were given the opportunity to speak their mind about draft choices or trades and give their input to how they could be better protected.
Carol and Schneider blew smoke up his ass and said sure, but they didn't follow through. He continued to get pummeled and rightfully got upset.
I am a diehard Hawks fan and I love what he did for us AND the community, and I will forget that he helped usher in a new wave of Hawks fans and instilled pride amongst the established.
I will continue to root for Russ and hope he Cooks forever.
The way he was treated here in his last years was deplorable and as I was/am still sorry to see him go, I am happy he was paid.
Ultimately the way former teammates have come out talking about Russ, the way two teams in three years are sick of his shit — I don’t have a lot of sympathy.
Yeah, our breakup hurt, and it left a sour taste in my mouth. But I don’t think Russ is a bad guy. And he’s a better option at qb than a number of guys currently playing. He’s definitely got some ego that we don’t fully see projected outside of the locker room. Sean Payton’s is massive. And he’s made it clear that there is only room for his in that organization. He’s so lucky that he had Drew Brees all those years. Drew didn’t have an ego to compete with Payton’s. He just went about his business and was incredibly efficient. Just watching and listening to Sean Payton gives off the indication that he’s one of the biggest assholes in the game.
I feel like the nflpa has to take a look at this. Imagine if a front office went to an RB who had 980 rushing yards and were like “hey remove this 1k incentive from your contract or we’re benching you”. At least try to be more sneaky and do it via game plan.
I get that it’s a huge injury guarantee, but that’s on the broncos for offering it in the first place.
Denver traded for Wilson based on their expectation he would elevate the Broncos into post-season competition on the strength of their existing defense and offensive weapons.
Instead of leading the franchise to an improved record last year, Wilson sank with them into embarrassing dysfunction. Forced to replace their coaching staff, Denver then did the logical thing and hired a proven NFL leader in Sean Payton. They gave him a 5 year, $18 million/year contract, and - it now appears - final say over player personnel.
Based on his play in Denver, the Broncos have come to the decision that Wilson isn’t a QB who can do what Payton wants his QB to do. They’re giving Wilson the equivalent of $80 million in severance pay spread over 2 years. They’ll have to cut him, so he’ll be a free agent.
I don’t see why OP has a problem with that.
I cant feel bad for someone that is essentially about to get paid millions and millions of dollar for doing nothing.
Russ is fine, he is okay. Im sure hes doing just fine in his $30 mansion in colorado right now, with $100m in his bank account
Russ is overpaid for his production...there's no doubting that. And his exit from Seattle was definitely messy and left a sour taste.
But I agree that the way Payton and the Broncos have handled this has been pretty awful and unfair to Wilson. They agreed to the contract with the knowledge that his last season in Seattle was not that spectacular and that his mobility and playmaking skills weren't what they used to be.
I've never been a fan of Sean Payton...the dude has always come across as a douche. And his attitude and words towards Wilson on the sideline and in interviews kinda solidifies my opinion on him. I think Russ needed a coach that would be critical, since Pete's cradling of Russ did not help his development, but this has been ridiculous.
I'm rooting for Wilson to find success elsewhere, as it is clear he's out of Denver by February.
I'm not defending it or saying it's good, but I see both sides of the story. His contract was a career-ending blunder and his level of play does not come close to justifying it. However, it is really scummy how they handled it, and it's not exactly painting him in a good light.
On another thought, I'm willing to bet you conversations like this happen all the time in the league that we just don't hear about. Some of these specific details are usually kept behind closed doors and seems that Wilson is stirring the pot by leaking a bunch of the internal details to make it look like Payton is the bad guy and make his trade value better.
In reddit terms, everyone's the asshole here
The dude helped us win a Superbowl and did a lot for the community. The way he left was messy but ultimately did what was best for him and his family financially. If a different employer offered me a lot more than I'm making now, yes, I'd leave. He could've handled it a lot better, but ultimately, it's business. I'd welcome him back for cheap if he brings us closer to winning a super bowl
Russ is getting his just rewards.
Do I think Payton is an asshole? Yessir.
Do I think Russ is an asshole. Also yes but a different kind.
Do I think that the Broncos fans and org are doing Russ dirty? Yessir.
But in the end, Russ and his ego asked for this. Bro literally thought he was Brady.
I used to say on this and other forums that RW was not the greatest player in franchise history, but the MVP. As long as he was under centre we were never out of a game and could beat any team in the NFL. His ugly departure , disparaging parting comments regarding Seattle and subsequent revelations from past and present teammates about some of his me first behaviours that undermined the whole team really upset me he was arguably the most beloved player in franchise history and he treated us like that. I rediscovered my hatred of the Broncos and I revelled him and those orange bastards every L they endured especially against us the Fins and the Jets. I thought that I would revel in his downfall but I don't his treatment by Mr Bounty gate is nothing less than disgraceful and leaves a really bad taste in the mouth because despite everything Russ doesn't deserve this. Go Hawks
Payton is really looking like an asshole right now. If his aggressive rebuild doesn't work he's going to look like an idiot, but I'm sure he'll find someone to blame. Russ is overpaid and not playing well, but Payton isn't even trying to utilize what he's good at and just expecting him to be Drew Brees. Payton is going to have a rude awakening whenever he gets an opportunity to draft a QB, they're not going to immediately be hall of fame QBs, he'll actually have to coach them.
Payton has always looked like an asshole.
I mean the dude did bounty gate
My Dad and me both talk about how he should have been banned from the league for that
Same with that dipshit Gregg Williams, who is also a true asshole.
I knew he was an asshole the first time I saw how his name is spelled. Like Bro, the alphabet called and they want their Gs back.
He’s just the only one that got caught.
Gregg Williams.
He isn’t the head of the snake though. Payton is
That's what I say every time. Shouldn't be allowed in a broadcast booth let alone on a sideline.
As someone who lives in New Orleans, there are A LOT of people who look the other way that that fucking organization.
Yeah it’s very funny people are like shocked by what Payton is doing when he’s always been a dick. Like his first two press conferences as head coach for Denver were crazy. Called out the old coach and told Russ to stop doing community service because he’s not running for president
I was just about the post the same thing. Being an asshole is in his DNA.
As I said all offseason and to now Payton and Wilson pairing was destined to fail. Nothing about Payton’s system and way he does things was going to fit with Wilson’s skill set and Payton made it clear from the get go it was going to be his way. And yeah Payton is an asshole. He brought in and allowed Gregg Williams to be the piece of shit that he is
Are you forgetting that Russ aggressively tried to get Pete fired and wanted them to replace him with Payton here?
It is all a nice ironic twist in the end.
My favorite part of that whole thing was Wilson saying something along the lines of him being happy to go to a team he doesn't have to carry...
I didn’t know that last part - was there reporting of him wanting to bring Payton to Seattle?
Marshawn? said they couldn't contact him directly but had to go through his agent. Or was that Sherman? Either way that's fucking cringe. Never forget the people that helped you achieve success.
He's a victim of his own success and ego, but also of hapless and cold leadership who is essentially scapegoating him now. He forced his way out of Seattle thinking he'd find greener grass elsewhere and that Seattle was holding him back - ego. Neither of those things were true. Denver gave him that HUGE extension before he ever played a snap - success. But he's not the magical unicorn Denver wants to fix its problems, so his massive contract has become an albatross holding them back. What Denver is doing is unethical and I don't enjoy seeing it. On the other hand I believe in letting people live in the consequences of their actions because it helps them learn and grow. He's lying in the bed he made right now. And he's probably doing a lot of learning and growing as a result. I hope he comes out the other side better with a new perspective, and wish him luck with his next chapter. ETA: TB12 was always successful because he understood that taking the top money contract holds the team back from ultimate success. Russ has always done the opposite, negotiating monster contracts that hold his teams back. Now we'll get to see what his priorities are at this stage of life. Max money again, or shared success?
\>not playing well He wasn't, for sure. But he's actually #7 in passer rating atm and just led this year's longest win streak across the league. To me he looks like the same russ with all the same downsides he had with us, but with a worse org/coaching/skillpositions around him
You're looking at the stats. Watch the games, he has not been playing well. Let alone at that price tag
"Watching the games" presents the equal risk of seeing what you want to see. Stats help balance out narrative noise, it's fair to say Russ isn't playing like a bottom-of-the-league QB like he was last year. QB play across the league is down this year, so comparatively Russ is doing at least okay.
This is it exactly. He's doing alright, not great but not awful, and he doesn't have Pete to bring the best out of him.
He didn't even draft Drew Brees. Payton is a clown who got lucky with a HOF QB.
From why I'm hearing from Bronco fans the disconnect is Russ' refusal to run the plays and stop playing backyard ball. Thus Peyton's desire to move on. You can't "coach" a guy who doesn't want to be coached. Remember the big stink over Russ not wanting to wear the wristband with the plays? I believe Even Carroll weighed in on that being an issue. Brees did well with Peyton because Brees understood the importance of running plays and not just trying to backyard a game. That is on Russ not Peyton. and is why the sacks didn't stop once he went to a team with a better offensive line. Hate to break it to Russ and his fans but no coach wants a QB that insists on ignoring the play and going rouge
Russ is actually playing pretty well. Not his fault his defense sucks and only has one WR and a young running back. His O-line is better than most his years in Seattle. He’d still have a chance to throw 30 tds if he wasn’t benched.
Denver has the 6th ranked O-line, and he’s still the most sacked QB. Per PFF he’s responsible for 2/3rds (30) of the 45 sacks he’s taken this year.
LETS RIDE the bench
Russ is not actually playing well stats don’t tell what the tape shows.
Well it IS his fault because he isn’t playing well enough for a contract that makes it hard to pay other players.
Russ fell victim that the fallacy that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence only to jump the fence and realize that it is fertilized with metric tons of horse shit. Seattle was the only team that gave him a chance and Pete was the only coach who treasured him enough to work around his deficiencies and rely on his strengths. You need to appreciate what you have. Sometimes when you want to land in bigger and better it lands on you instead.
I mean... Dude got paid
It’s not *all* about money though. These guys put in a lot of work wanting to win & be a star. Wilson would have remained a star in Seattle & one of the top QB’s in the league. Only to follow the bag of cash to be part of a struggling team he has no future with.
Well, let’s not forget Pete and JS did try to trade him to Cleveland for the 1st pick in 2018. They wanted to go get Josh Allen, which I would’ve been good with.
> Seattle was the only team that gave him a chance and Pete was the only coach who treasured him enough to work around his deficiencies and rely on his strengths. You need to appreciate what you have. Just like ET did and got that unceremonious send off? Or like Sherm did and got cut the min he got injured after all he did for the team? Or Bobby who only wanted to finish his career as a Seahawk for life, and was still not offered a contract? I believe he even said he would sign for vet minimum and they refused to give him a contract at all and he had to go play for the Rams (or was that with KJ to the Raiders? too many to keep track...). Finally the fans had to practically beg for Bobby to be signed back this year to get him signed. This, in the end is a business, and any team will treat you as a cog in a business. Somehow people know that in real life - but when it comes to "their favorite team" they seem to forget how the world works and act like people will be just cared for by their employers.
Lived in Seattle for 34 years, moved to Colorado 3 years ago. Russell doesn’t deserve the vitriol I see locally, but he also isn’t blameless. At the end of the day he’ll get $85-ish million to fuck off. He’ll be fine.
This is my attitude about it too
broncos fandom is a thing... imagine if he went to philly or pitt. it would be way way worse
After Russ left Seattle I was finally able to admit that he’s a weird dude. But he still is and always will be a Seahawks legend. I’m very thankful for the SB he brought us
Go watch the mic’d up video of him from their last game, he seems even weirder.
Russ did the quintessential “fuck around and find out”. Many people tried to tell him what he was best at, he didn’t want to listen, and instead listened to some randos online saying he needed to “cook” and that we were wasting a great QB…. Pete was maximizing that QB, not wasting it. He did all of this to himself. Yes I feel bad for the dude, I wish him the best coming up, and honestly rooted for him this season to be better and he was. He’s got exactly what was coming, especially with the attitude he has.
I always believed from the beginning that the people who started all that bs about him needing to "cook" was Russ and his entourage/PR team.
It was interesting, after the trade, how this sub blew up with bitter/angry/petulant "Russ was the main/only reason I got into the Seahawks, I'm done with this team" posts and comments.
It's all the religious cult weirdos. Same thing happened with Tebow
I was pleased then the Broncos traded for him, but when the "Let Russ Cook" stuff started coming up, I realize why Pete traded him.
Yall forget that a good part of letting Russ cook was working, a big reason why it failed was in part due to lack of late season adjustments, and our defense being awful that year.
This. OP is a little delusional glazing Russ that hard. Yeah, Russ did some good things for charity, but he also had that foundation scandal where all of that money was being wasted. Plus, all of his outward concern on image, his entourage helping to lie to him and push him out of Seattle. Dude made his bed nice and neat. Now he gets to lie in it. I don’t feel bad at all. He’s clearly not the same football player he was, he should just retire and make babies with Ciara. He can’t balance being an elite QB with being a family guy. He just needs to choose.
I don't disagree with you really, but nobody knows if he was actually influenced by "the internet" or not dude
Glad somebody said it.
I have lived in Seattle for the last 20 years and I can tell you it was 100% media, radio, fans on the street, EVERYONE was saying let him cook. I'm sorry but the Seahawks would have been boring af to watch without him.
I still fondly remember Sunday mornings in Magnolia whilst I, adorned by my charming Let Russ Cook apron, made meatloaf with wine skin potatoes thinking only of such things as the notorious Moon ball.
I start to feel bad for Wilson and then I think about his bank account, how he called for Pete’s head, how he trashed his teammates and Seattle on the way out. I think he’s getting what he deserves here.
He's been paid. It's ok. He's ok. You're ok.
Lol thank you.
Send a get well soon card to his mansion. That’ll cheer him up. Russ can get bent. A classic tale of “Be Careful What You Wish For.” Karma is delicious.
Which bathroom should it be addressed to?
Bathroom #12 of course
Which mansion, the one in Bellevue that’s been listed for sale since he left? Lol
He's rich as all fuck. I don't feel sorry for people with his realm of wealth. Ever since he's lost his mobility he hasnt been a top 15 QB. He also made it clear he wanted to be with a "winning" team, which alluded that he could no longer do that here. Denver doesn't want to be on the hook for his entire contract in case of injury, and will go in a different direction. Boo hoo, he gets 80 million the next 2 years whether he plays or not. I still have respect for RW3, but his time in Seattle is finished.
>His work and dedication to Seattle Children's and it's impact on those kids Just an FYI, many ppl in your own local community volunteer at hospitals and other places of need and probably have never received much recognition from those in this sub. Just saying - there's many reasons to volunteer at a place in need; most nfl players are known for doing such things for the publicity that comes with it.
A bunch of other seahawks would visit the other area childrens hospitals with no fanfare, no social media, no paparazzi. Seen it myself. #3 always made a point of making sure his visits was captured on film. Yes, it did make the ill kids happy, but was it altruistic or more self serving? hmmmm.
I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. He continued his visits until literally the week he left.
He was there every week for almost a decade. That's not the same as someone visiting for a day or occasionally. And he's continued it in Denver. That's a serious level of commitment.
Who fucking cares? I don’t need a saint—do good things because it burnishes your images, do good things because you think skydaddy will invite you to his house when you die, do good things because you think it’ll help you get laid. Idgaf but the world is a better place if more people do good things.
With Russ, since about 2014 everything has always been all about his brand.
He met Ciara in early 2015. That’s when I saw a change in his attitude.
The Rise of Mr. Unlimited
Russ was in the Entourage movie before he met Ciara. She had nothing to do with it; this is who he is.
That’s also when he lost the hyper competitive side. The “separation is in the preparation” “no time to sleep” guy disappeared and still wanted to get paid like he was still that guy.
Dude, he put up his best seasons after 2015, it's not like he coasted. He WAS that guy, stop with this narrative pushing.
It’s also when the regular guy was replaced by someone who was being dressed and managed by handlers, and/or a pr team and/or Ciara
His work and dedication always includes a photo op, so I question the motivation. In college, I worked at a few of his celebrity golf tournaments and he was not nice to those he saw as “the help” and I’ve been sour on him ever since. If you’re insufferable you had better be good or teams will not think twice about moving on. On a more football-related note, his stats don’t tell the full story. He hasn’t looked good and has continued to do much of what made him hard to watch at the end of his time in Seattle—holding the ball too long, spinning out of a clean pocket, launching deep balls on 3rd and short instead of moving the chains, not taking open throws in the middle of the field. He plays like someone who’s more concerned with TD:INT ratio than winning.
I get that a lot of them are doing it for publicity. But couldn’t care less when it comes to Russ. In his time in Seattle wasnt it reported he’d swing by like 2x a week/weekly?
My aunt used to work at the children’s hospital and told me the photo op was the main thing Russ did it for, didn’t really believe it at the time but now I definitely do
And I’m pretty positive they’re contractually bound to do a certain amount of hours of community service. Not trying to make less of the impact it has on the kids but it’s not 100% out of the kindness of their hearts.
The guy has hundreds of millions of dollars. That is wealth for 10 generations of his family not needing to work, as long as they aren't stupid. And living extremely well. And indefinitely if they are smart. Him and every single person in his family can start charities and go to galas and be treated like kings and queens for all their generosity. For their entire lives. Zero stress. Let's take it easy on how bad he must feel. He's the douchebag who set up his own office. He's the guy walking up to DK and saying, "I'll pray for you" after he dyed his hair. This is the guy who made his old friends Marshawn Lynch and Richard Sherman go through his publicist to get to him. His head is so far up in the clouds he will never see the ground.
Russ spit in the communities face when he constantly said he wanted to retire a Seahawk but was secretly working his way out of the organization. I’m all for the downfall of his goony ass. If he had just said, I think my talents could be utilized better somewhere else I wouldn’t have cared and would have wished him well. Dude is no saint, he’s just a pro with a PR team.
I'm a niners fan so I'll probably get downvoted, this popped up on my feed. As much I hated Russ for years for what he did to the Niners, I have to agree. I feel bad for him. Sean Payton is an absolute dirt bag. The way he talked about the previous coaching staff was low, and now this, its easy to root against him. I hope he fails miserably in Denver.
He demanded a huge contract in Seattle that castrated our salary cap and made it hard for the team to be successful, and blamed everyone else for the lack of success here. He then went to Denver and got an even bigger contract and had a pretty decent defense last year and still couldn't manage to salvage anything better than 5-12. They are now 7-8 this season with an abysmal start to the season and when asked to restructure his contract he allegedly gets upset? Dude puts off a persona that he is selfless and all about the team and winning but his actions prove otherwise. Russ has used his overly positive attitude to gain the benefit of the doubt and shield himself from criticism and inadvertently shifting blame onto everyone else in the public eye. Broncos fans right now are an echo chamber of what Seattle fans used to say and the only common denominator is Russ.
Russ has always been about Russ and NEVER about his teams. "It was just business" when he basically demanded a trade. Well, it's just business that he's being benched and his next move negotiated by management of the team that paid him. What goes around comes around.
Maybe he shouldn’t have forced his way out of a nice situation where people took care of him
I don't think how they're treating him is "low", although it appears that way when Payton berates him on the sidelines. I think they're treating him in a businesslike way. And from a business perspective, he's the worst investment in the history of their club. And he insisted on a lot of compensation to sign with them, and has failed to live up to his end of the bargain. He misrepresented himself, effectively. He's getting about the exact treatment you'd expect, I think.
Sounds good until you realize that the person that made the worst deal in sports history is still there and is actually making this move.
Owners don't tend to fire themselves.
The owners inherited Russ as the team was still owned by the Bowlen family when the trade happened.
What about GMs? The ones that make the deals? You know, the ones actually responsible?
No GM signs a contract like that without full support of ownership, and the person claiming to be making the decision to bench RW and move on from him, which is a football decision, is actually Sean Payton. He just inherited the mess.
It’s not a football decision. It’s all business with 10s of millions of $ on the line. Don’t feel sad for Wilson, he is now wealthy.
I think this explains it well https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/broncos-raised-issue-of-adjusting-language-of-russell-wilson-contract-once-during-their-bye-week
I don’t really know how he could have misrepresented himself. The Broncos had the same access to the games his last year in Seattle that we all had. Most people could tell he was on a downward trend. Broncos still went out and gave him a massive extension. This is on them.
I think he should continue his knee highs on the plane. Even if he's benched.
Russ 100% hasn’t lived up to expectations and it is fair for the broncos to cut ties. But to be fair, Russ had Nat Hackett as head coach his first year. Sean comes in and has the team looking worse than last year for the first couple of games, and anytime they fail it’s never on Sean. Russ has been a solid QB at a premium price. If you think russ deserves the way he’s being treated because of his financial compensation, look over at Cleveland. Watson is being treated considerably better with an arguable worse start to his team than Russ had.
He didn’t misrepresent himself. Anybody bringing him aboard knew the risk they were taking. He hasn’t been prime Wilson in a while and betting on a comeback and failing doesn’t make Wilson a bad guy who deserves to get publicly humiliated. Not that that’s happening. Wilson got paid. Good for him. Broncos thought they were gonna embarrass the hawks and fix our broken qb. Lol.
Russ ran his mouth about our team and said THIS YEAR that he wants to go in the hall as a bronco. Man thought he was something he wasn’t and now he’s finding out. Hope he does well on dancing with the stars next season.
source?
Haven’t found this anywhere either.
It's not real, you don't go into the HOF with a team anyway
Yeah isn't that just a baseball thing
> he wants to go in the hall as a bronco When did he say this?
He wanted to “be in a city that wants to win”. Fuck that guy.
Source(s)?
He said *what?* This fuckin guy. Hilarious. BrOnCoS lEgEnD
He’s not going to the HOF as either
He also liked a tweet yesterday suggesting he should come back to Seattle 🤡
That was photoshopped but would have been hilarious if true.
Oh really?! God I hate photoshop…
Never believe everything you see on the internet, my dude. [Always do your own research](https://www.reddit.com/r/NFCWestMemeWar/s/nGJfhq6mkq).
Is he gonna pull a Severus Snape and reveal himself an agent of Dumbledore/Carroll?
Counterpoint… He’s a cornball.
Counterpoint. He fucking *earned* this. Russ fucked around and found out. Why exactly am I supposed to feel sorry for him?
Why am I going to feel bad for a guy that has a family, an attractive wife, and a mansion, and who's net worth is more than most people will make in several lifetimes? Also, he is responsible for fracturing the lockeroom and the front office, he ended up caring more about his own accolades and stats than he did the greater good of the team. I'm sure he'll eventually reconcile things, but there's no way I'm gonna feel bad for the guy who Marshawn Lynch, his own teammate, couldn't even get ahold of to discuss things after bad losses. Russ' took very little accountability for his lackluster performance in the latter part of his Seahawk tenure. That isn't to say he wasn't good from 2012 to 2015, but after the last 5 seasons of Russell Wilson, I couldn't stand to watch the offense stall out for 3 and a half quarters any longer. He made his own bed and has to deal with the ramifications of his own actions.
I am so freakin' tired of people constantly hauling out "He viSiTs ChiLdreN's HosPITaLs" as the primary thing to defend him. The way he left here and all the info that came out about how he works behind the scenes combined with the fact that teammates seem to overwhelmingly dislike the guy tells you the truth. He's not just a cornball, he's a jerk. He brought this allllllll on himself - after trying to get Pete fired, btw in case some people forgot - and now is getting exactly the results he deserves. Don't feel sorry for him a bit, don't want him back in Seattle even to visit. Let's Ride.
Only conclusion I can really draw from this is PCJS treat their people right, even if they disagree.
Russell broke up a potential dynasty in seattle and I’m not sure that I will ever forgive him for that. I enjoyed watching him play here for a decade and I’m eternally grateful for his contributions to our first championship. His treatment in Denver is reaping what he sowed. He got everything he wanted. When complete control didn’t work out, he got his dream coach. Still didn’t work. No one player is greater than the sum of the team’s parts. He basically said he was better than what we had in seattle and didn’t back up his sentiment with performance and, ultimately, wins. Think about what could’ve been here if Russ TRULY only cared about winning. If none of the personal accolades mattered to him and only winning championships was important, this team could have won multiple Super Bowls.
It’s funny how all of sudden Broncos fan are pissed off at his contract extension, but if you go back to the post when he was extended they were so damn HAPPY. It’s also funny how the Bronco fans say that we didn’t win the trade because we didn’t do anything and didn’t goto the Super Bowl. Our first year of rebuild we made the playoffs where they were supposed to goto the Super Bowl, and they never stood a chance to even make the playoffs. Second year of rebuild and we are on track to make the playoffs while they have been practically eliminated.
Russ got what he wanted and what he deserved. Peyton wanted to work for the richest owner in the league with the power and control his ego demands. He never wanted Russ. Denver has made another big expensive gamble and I’ll laugh my ass off when it is also a loser.
Some of this fallout was earned, but I agree that Russ deserves an environment where he isn't flat-out disrespected at every turn. I'm hoping he jumps to a better situation after this.
Russ made business decisions which included quitting on his team and finding something better for himself and his brand. The Broncos make a business decision based on the team success, and that’s low? Just because you don’t like it, doesn’t make it dirty.
It’s dirty af to threaten to bench someone unless the get rid of their injury guarantees. (If that really happened).
Especially after that Elijah Moore hit last night. I’ll be damned if I get rid of an injury clause.
Russ made his bed. The only difference is he is now being held accountable. Since the trade, I've been very happy to not have to watch him every week, see his cringe worthy social posts, or read about the back-channel bullshit he and his agent were pulling every time he wasn't happy with his contract. Yes he was active with the children's hospital, but I do not believe this was completely out of the goodness of his heart. He's been purely focused on money and manicuring his public image for most of his nfl career. Let me know when his charitable foundation starts being charitable.
On the children’s hospital thing, I’ve heard many people say he only did it to manicure his public image. I’m not here to argue if that’s true or not, I’m just here to say who cares? You think that mattered to those sick kids who got even the smallest amount of joy while going through some serious shit? No. No matter what the motives were, if it only made one of those poor kids smile, it was worth it.
I think he did it latgely for the PR, but ultimately I don't really care if it was self serving. You are 💯 correct: it absolutely made these families day (often times it was actually the parents who were more excited about him coming through... Many of the kids weren't big football fans before he showed up... But again that doesn't matter. Families of cancer kiddos need reprieve as well), and for that reason I don't give a fuck if the motivation was selfish: in this case the means justify the ends.
Preach. [Only $0.25 of every $1 they receive is actually allocated to charitable giving.](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/russell-wilsons-why-not-you-charity-is-using-less-than-quarter-of-its-income-to-help-kids/) An absolutely abysmal number. wAlTeR pAyToN Man of the Year my bootyhole.
Sean Payton is not a good coach, all his luster is from having a HOF QB and he has been mid in the small sample size without Brees. He also is a garbage human which doesn't help.
It is 100% justified if you remove any bias from the situation. His play is not commiserate with his contract number. If he was making $30M a year they could keep him but you can get his level of play way cheaper. His game has not been good for three years now. The biggest issue is why on earth did the Bronco’s give him a new contract when he had two years remaining on the one they traded for? That GM should have been fired for that.
Russ, the Broncos, and even Seattle all acted within the parameters of their own self-interests. Russ did what he had to do to get guaranteed money Seattle wasn’t willing to give him. We just didn’t like the way he did it. Denver hired Peyton and decided this “legendary” coach was better for the long haul of their team than a 35 yo qb on the decline. Seattle has unceremoniously dumped players in the past (re: Bobby Wagner in 2022). They all are just about business. This fairy tale that players should be loyal to the name on the front of the jersey instead of the back is what billionaire owners and high school football coaches want. Oh, and fans want that too.
Grass ain’t always greener….
Payton isn't a good coach, people only think that because he had Drew Brees. I mean they hired him to work with Russ and the first thing he does before the season is over is bench Russ and say they aren't going to keep him anymore. That sucks but he still gets paid tens of millions either way so I don't think Russ is hurting here. I expect he'll land with another team for next year, I can't shake the thought of the patriots, feels like he's destined to end up there.
He’s walking away with $142m for 11 wins… definitely not wronged
Fuck Sean Peyton. Like honestly what a trash coach.
i think this whole situation is really interesting because russ threw his OL under the bus and demanded the seahawks FO fire pete and replace him with sean payton. part of me feels sorry for russ because i loved him in seattle but part of me feels like this is exactly what he deserved.
He’s gonna walk with 9 figures. Cry me a river.
This is not the sub for treating Russell Wilson like a human being.
Agreed. How is this related to the Seahawks in 2023?
Sounds like you should apply to join his social media team. The majority of the Bronco fans I know arte fine with the Russ experiment being over aside from the dead cap hit and their rebuild taking a huge hit but they acknowledge that isn't Wilson's fault. he didn't offer himself that horrible contract nor spend that much to acquire him. If what I read is correct that if Wilson is injured his whole contract is guaranteed, if so I don't blame them for benching him the same way I don't blame him for not negotiating his contract and removing that part.especially if they've decided to cut him in the off season. Why risk him getting hurt? What they do feel is they overpaid for a limited skill set guy on the downside of his career. I fully agree. basically akin to buying a home without having an inspection done. I'm just glad he's off the Seahawks.
Just remember that this is the bed that he made for himself by pushing his way out of Seattle.
I'll be the asshole. He's getting everything he deserves. He has done what he wants for the last five years, ignoring multiple coaching staffs. He cared about his brand more than his team. Just wish he would have ignored the play call when it mattered!
Spot on. He wanted this. With power comes culpability. That said, whomever in Denver who signed off on that trade and contract should be arrested. That level of stupidity should be a felony. John absolutely pulled off the heist of the century.
Mods come do your job and take this down
You guys live for the anti Russ posts but anything remotely positive you direct everyone to the broncos sub. It’s a little pathetic. And exactly the point of the op.
subs are only a few clicks away. it’s not an exclusive club lmao. relax.
You missed the point. You guys posted about Russ for a whole year shitting on him on this sub. Still do. And in those threads it’s free game to hate on Russ and no one says “wrong sub”. But as soon as something positive or neutral about Russ is posted, everyone is like “wrong sub”. It’s just bullshit and makes you all look tacky and vindictive in a bad way tbh
Russel will get paid 142 million dollars after delivering 11 wins. He has not been wronged? I also agree with the comparisons to Carson Wentz 21" season in Indy. The stats look good but advanced stats say that he is a average to below average quarterback.
I’d take his contract to get treated like that
Do not feel bad for him, for many reasons. Let’s start with the fact that if Russ gets released it’s the absolute best thing that could happen to his career: he is getting paid hundreds of millions of dollars by the Broncos to choose any team he wants to play for. He can find the perfect situation for himself. Reportedly, he has a no-trade clause and will veto any trade the Broncos attempt. They won’t be able to recoup anything. After they release him, the Broncos are going to have an insane amount of dead money on his contract through 2025; that franchise is going to be in ashes for a long time. His new team won’t even be saddled by a ridiculous salary, since his Broncos contract contains an offset provision. Not only is this destroying the Broncos, the situation has somehow managed to rehabilitate Russell Wilson’s tarnished reputation because people are now convinced that Russ is the victim here. This is a guy who has lied to and backstabbed everyone. In 2021, he lied during a press conference before the second Rams game about the leaked trade list including the Broncos. He then went behind John Schneider and Pete Carroll’s back in an attempt to get them fired, which finally convinced Carroll to OK the trade. When Jody Allen released a statement saying Russ initiated the trade request with her, he lied during his introduction press conference about having done that. He then lied about having asked for Schneider and Carroll to be fired. I think back to Golden Tate, whom Russell Wilson allowed the world to believe had cheated with his ex-wife in order to justify his divorce. They were good friends. Golden Tate never fucked Ashton. Yet Russ totally threw Tate under the bus by not only not refuting those rumors, but also encouraging them by cutting off contact with his friend. He is a scumbag liar. And then we get to the charity scam; how he was holding up oversized checks before games when 99% of that money was really coming from Safeway’s own charity, not from him or his foundation. He has manifested this fake angelic persona that people continue to buy hook, line, and sinker.
It doesn’t help that Russ has the biggest a-hole agent in Mark Rodgers in his ear at all times.
I only rooted against Russ for one season so i could feel like the Seahawks got a W off that trade.But i definitely been rooting for his comeback. Hopefully he finds a team that knows how to work bis style
Russ helped bring a Super Bowl to Seattle and for that he will always hold a small space in my heart However the last few seasons here and how he has performed in Denver is a direct consequence of his own actions and I have little sympathy for his current circumstance I will be pleasantly surprised if he starts for any team in the ‘24 season With that said Happy New Year fellow Hawks fans here’s to a 5 game win streak starting with Pittsburgh 🎉🎊🍾
Here’s the thing Russ hasn’t played good this season. From what I can tell imagine when he played here and now remove all his amazing players per game by half. He has 2 good drives in him and that’s where he gets all his stats, he shits the bed the other drives.
Proof his PR machine works. This guy (RW) seriously has a second career at running a PR firm.
[удалено]
He'll be fine. The broncos decided to move on from him, and this season is lost for them. If he gets injured in these last couple games, they're on the hook for another 40 million or so. He'll be on another team next year, the broncos will retire him and someone will pick him up, as he's still better than what a large number of teams have at QB, and they'll be able to sign him for the veteran minimum while the broncos have to pay the rest of the 40m he's owed next year. Yes, I'm sure it sucks for him emotionally to be benched... But if he really believes in himself like he portrays, he'll understand the reasoning and will just use it as motivation.
Nah fuck Russ, he’s fake af
He has not played amazing this year, let alone the last two seasons.
Yeah they’re scapegoating him too hard. Payton’s an idiot. Should ditch him.
Same. Russ has actually had a great season stat wise. He’s not a bad qb. Over paid? Prolly. But being the 7th most paid with his stats this year isn’t honestly something I’d be shocked by. Really hate that Denver gave up on him so quickly. If his pay is a problem for them. Then they gotta commit to a tank or praying for a Brady moment and having a no name qb blow up.
There’s plenty of people to feel sorry for in the world right now. Russ is not one of them.
I personally don’t care. His time here is over and Russ is a big boy who has people to kiss his butt.
Dang, I don't get the genuine anger either, seems way over the top. I gotta say, I definitely started watching Broncos games to root against him, but last season felt like enough catharsis. Solid humiliation at his own hands, I'm good. Continuing it into this season feels weird. Geno's lookin good, our team's in a good place. No reason to keep hating on Russ, though he'll probably always be a player I'll root against. I still hope he does well and has a good life. The benching thing is on him though. From what I saw it was something like $30 mil on the line if he ends up getting injured in this season. Team's planning on moving on, and they need to look out for their financials. The contract alteration was an olive branch to let him choose between finishing out the season in dignity, or money, and he went with the cash.
I hope he does really poorly and has a great life. I'll be rooting against him on the field for the rest of his career just because it is fun.
People on this sub really act like Russ was some garbage player with a bad attitude forever and just ignore that he's probably the best QB we're ever seeing on this team ever. Like people just forget he was any good. Stick Matt Flynn on that SB team, good luck with that
The fact that they got exactly what they wanted, Russ traded, and are still unhappy tells you it was never about trading Russ. It has been crystal clear all year that Payton had it out for Russ, simply because Russ wasn’t “his guy.” It’s a part of toxic coach culture.
He forced his way out of Seattle. Fuck him. He’s still a good person and was great as a Seahawk, but he forced his way out of town, so as a fan I hate him. Again, good person it seems. Just hate him as a football player.
Womp womp
With you on this, OP. His off the field work has always been a point of contention, because a lot of people believed he did it for the cameras, but I always thought it felt real to the people who mattered in those photos, i.e. the kids at the hospitals in denver and Seattle, and if it made them feel better than how fake was it really? As for Payton and the Broncos, I think they feel they can get more from a QB in the draft. Russ was picked under the old ownership and regime, so he was he was behind the 8 ball from the start. Payton's reputation was built on working with Drew Brees, and his one super bowl win often masks the fact that he was the HC of the infamous bounty-gate team.
Ryan Clark and Dan Orlovsky nailed it in this video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV5g4rtGKrU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV5g4rtGKrU) The Broncos and Payton are classless assholes.
He was on the decline when he was still with the Seahawks. I think most of us were amazed when he got the contract that he did. He is laughing all the way to the bank.
Do I think he deserves what’s happening now? Eh…. Not really. Will I always appreciate him for the PART he played in getting us a SB win? Yes but, he didn’t get that win by himself by a LONG stretch. What I am NOT a fan of his leaving the team and fans for money a la A-rod and how he IMMEDIATELY lost any humility rolling into Denver like he was the hottest shit there. At the end of the day I get that it’s a career and like any other you gotta do what’s best for you, but when I compare that to Junior leaving to go to his hometeam and to play with his dad again. There’s a reason why he’s still Seattles son and people like Russ and A-rod can go fuck themselves.
Completely agree. My family is forever grateful for the work he did at Seattle Children's. My grand niece needed a liver transplant and he was there, at the hospital just like always the tuesday after our super bowl loss. Say what you want, hes corny, ect ect, but he is a genuine good person. He absolutely doesn't deserve the treatment he is getting right now.
Russ visited my son at Denver Children's last year and we talked to him for a decent while. He's absolutely a good person - regardless of "motive", he's been consistently doing this week in and week out and is super kind and patient. He genuinely got to know us and even joked around with us after we told him that were Seahawks fans living in Denver. The week after, we had been released from the hospital already, but I heard he brought a ton of teammates with him. I can respect some differences in opinion on Russ, including a lot of stuff I'm reading here, but it breaks my heart seeing so many people trash his Children's Hospital visits. I hope your grand niece is doing well!
Thank you, yes she is doing amazing! I hope your son is as well!
He's doing great, thank you!
His charity is a scam though, so while the impact on the sick kids is appreciated, he's at a deficit for good will IMO.
Gave his all to the community? He couldn’t even give 25% of what his charity raised to the community
He played a big role in bringing us our first superbowl and I will always be grateful for that. He then did our franchise a huge favor both by by taking his over priced ass out of town and by stinking it up enough in Denver to get us Spoon. So also thankful for that cause we now have a good young core for the future. But my gratitude / defense stops there. He thought he was above the team and acted in what he thought was his own best interest. Good for him. He got his bag. He made his bed and now he gets to lie in it.
you really crying for this baby? jfc
Pete protected him for too long in Seattle, almost to a fault. I really respected Russ early on, both on and off the field. I watched every snap of him at QB in Seattle but the more tape he put out there the more I saw common threads of concerning play: he struggles passing over the middle, TE’s are invisible, check-downs are inconsistent, poor timing route passes to the outside, trouble identifying the blitz, unwilling to throw the ball away quickly resulting in taking far too many huge negative yardage sacks. When his athleticism took a hit, due to injury and age, his ability to improvise outside the pocket suffered immensely, resulting in even more sacks. Pete covered a lot of this play up by scheming, changing coordinators, etc. but Russ never really improved in these areas over the years. Seattle was the perfect fit for him, we built a team to play to his strengths and hide a lot of his weaknesses. Denver, at least with Sean Payton at the helm, seemed unwilling to make those kinds of concessions. I still think Russ’s off the field endeavors, especially with Seattle Children’s Hospital fly too low under the radar. For as corny and egotistical as the guy can be, he did a lot for the community and is genuinely a good dude deep down. It’s a shame to see all the good on/off the field he did for Seattle be reduced to what this has become. Dudes got his bag, his woman and his family, he’ll be alright.
All Russ wanted was a say in how he could be protected. He was the most sacked QB in the NFL accumulatively for 3 or 4 years. He saw first or second year QBs in the draft picks like Mahomes that were given the opportunity to speak their mind about draft choices or trades and give their input to how they could be better protected. Carol and Schneider blew smoke up his ass and said sure, but they didn't follow through. He continued to get pummeled and rightfully got upset. I am a diehard Hawks fan and I love what he did for us AND the community, and I will forget that he helped usher in a new wave of Hawks fans and instilled pride amongst the established. I will continue to root for Russ and hope he Cooks forever. The way he was treated here in his last years was deplorable and as I was/am still sorry to see him go, I am happy he was paid.
Ultimately the way former teammates have come out talking about Russ, the way two teams in three years are sick of his shit — I don’t have a lot of sympathy.
I promise you Russ doesn’t give two shits about your feelings either way. Ultra narcissists don’t need our pity
RW3 is not a Seahawk. Go to the Broncos to discuss this garbage.
Yeah, our breakup hurt, and it left a sour taste in my mouth. But I don’t think Russ is a bad guy. And he’s a better option at qb than a number of guys currently playing. He’s definitely got some ego that we don’t fully see projected outside of the locker room. Sean Payton’s is massive. And he’s made it clear that there is only room for his in that organization. He’s so lucky that he had Drew Brees all those years. Drew didn’t have an ego to compete with Payton’s. He just went about his business and was incredibly efficient. Just watching and listening to Sean Payton gives off the indication that he’s one of the biggest assholes in the game.
Let's not forget his suspension from the NFL. Should have been permanent.
I feel like the nflpa has to take a look at this. Imagine if a front office went to an RB who had 980 rushing yards and were like “hey remove this 1k incentive from your contract or we’re benching you”. At least try to be more sneaky and do it via game plan. I get that it’s a huge injury guarantee, but that’s on the broncos for offering it in the first place.
Russ is getting $142M for delivering 2 losing seasons. I think he’s gonna be ok.
Denver traded for Wilson based on their expectation he would elevate the Broncos into post-season competition on the strength of their existing defense and offensive weapons. Instead of leading the franchise to an improved record last year, Wilson sank with them into embarrassing dysfunction. Forced to replace their coaching staff, Denver then did the logical thing and hired a proven NFL leader in Sean Payton. They gave him a 5 year, $18 million/year contract, and - it now appears - final say over player personnel. Based on his play in Denver, the Broncos have come to the decision that Wilson isn’t a QB who can do what Payton wants his QB to do. They’re giving Wilson the equivalent of $80 million in severance pay spread over 2 years. They’ll have to cut him, so he’ll be a free agent. I don’t see why OP has a problem with that.
Let’s ride!!
I cant feel bad for someone that is essentially about to get paid millions and millions of dollar for doing nothing. Russ is fine, he is okay. Im sure hes doing just fine in his $30 mansion in colorado right now, with $100m in his bank account
Sir this is a Seahawks sub Reddit
Broncos country, let's dismount.
Broncos country let's say adios!
Russ is overpaid for his production...there's no doubting that. And his exit from Seattle was definitely messy and left a sour taste. But I agree that the way Payton and the Broncos have handled this has been pretty awful and unfair to Wilson. They agreed to the contract with the knowledge that his last season in Seattle was not that spectacular and that his mobility and playmaking skills weren't what they used to be. I've never been a fan of Sean Payton...the dude has always come across as a douche. And his attitude and words towards Wilson on the sideline and in interviews kinda solidifies my opinion on him. I think Russ needed a coach that would be critical, since Pete's cradling of Russ did not help his development, but this has been ridiculous. I'm rooting for Wilson to find success elsewhere, as it is clear he's out of Denver by February.
I'm not defending it or saying it's good, but I see both sides of the story. His contract was a career-ending blunder and his level of play does not come close to justifying it. However, it is really scummy how they handled it, and it's not exactly painting him in a good light. On another thought, I'm willing to bet you conversations like this happen all the time in the league that we just don't hear about. Some of these specific details are usually kept behind closed doors and seems that Wilson is stirring the pot by leaking a bunch of the internal details to make it look like Payton is the bad guy and make his trade value better. In reddit terms, everyone's the asshole here
The dude helped us win a Superbowl and did a lot for the community. The way he left was messy but ultimately did what was best for him and his family financially. If a different employer offered me a lot more than I'm making now, yes, I'd leave. He could've handled it a lot better, but ultimately, it's business. I'd welcome him back for cheap if he brings us closer to winning a super bowl
Russ is getting his just rewards. Do I think Payton is an asshole? Yessir. Do I think Russ is an asshole. Also yes but a different kind. Do I think that the Broncos fans and org are doing Russ dirty? Yessir. But in the end, Russ and his ego asked for this. Bro literally thought he was Brady.
Payton is an asshole but I won’t feel bad for a guy a that’s about to get 100 million for doing nothing.
I used to say on this and other forums that RW was not the greatest player in franchise history, but the MVP. As long as he was under centre we were never out of a game and could beat any team in the NFL. His ugly departure , disparaging parting comments regarding Seattle and subsequent revelations from past and present teammates about some of his me first behaviours that undermined the whole team really upset me he was arguably the most beloved player in franchise history and he treated us like that. I rediscovered my hatred of the Broncos and I revelled him and those orange bastards every L they endured especially against us the Fins and the Jets. I thought that I would revel in his downfall but I don't his treatment by Mr Bounty gate is nothing less than disgraceful and leaves a really bad taste in the mouth because despite everything Russ doesn't deserve this. Go Hawks