The Russell Wilson experiment in Denver failed long before the record-setting dead cap hit made it official. The Broncos acquired Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks in March 2022, sending five draft picks and three players to Seattle in one of the largest trade packages in NFL history. Denver then signed Wilson to a five-year, $242.5 million extension before he ever took a snap in orange and blue.
Wilson went 11-19 in 30 starts across two seasons, and by December 2023, Sean Payton had seen enough and benched the veteran quarterback for the final two games. Justin Simmons, who spent eight seasons in the Broncos’ secondary, was recently asked by Jarvis Landry and Leonard Fournette on their “4th And South” podcast about the conflict between Payton and Wilson.
Justin Simmons Details Why Russell Wilson, Sean Payton Clashed in Denver
Simmons didn’t mince words when describing the main issue between his former quarterback and head coach. The way the two operated was quite different, and they were bound to clash.
“I think, and I know, like their personalities just clashed from like day one,” Simmons said. “You know that the way that Sean operates and the way that Russ has operated when he was with Seattle, it just clashed.”
According to Simmons, the tension stemmed largely from how the offense was executed. Wilson played very differently from what Payton was accustomed to with Drew Brees in New Orleans.
“Russ has always been really good at making plays out of nothing, right?” he continued. “Like trusting what he sees and being able to make checks… and Sean is very controlling, like he wants you to run what he calls, don’t switch it up. So some of that happened too, and when you start butting heads with two alphas, that’s the result that’s going to happen.”
“So [it] worked out worked out for Denver,” Simmons added. “I don’t know all the details of it, I wasn’t really like asking around or anything like that, but just being in the locker room with Russ and stuff like that, I know, like, they were butting heads a lot, and you know that’s a tough situation to be in for him.”
The Broncos released Wilson in March 2024, absorbing an NFL-record, at the time, $85 million in dead cap, split across $53 million in 2024 and $32 million in 2025. Simmons himself became a cap casualty of that fallout, as he was released to save $14.5 million as Denver tried to dig out from under the financial wreckage.
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According to PFSN’s QB Impact Metric, here’s how Wilson ranked compared to other quarterbacks in the league during his time in Denver:
- 2022: An impact score of 69.9, ranking 24th in the league.
- 2023: An impact score of 75.0, ranking 15th in the league.
Given the ugly exit and the historic financial penalty, Payton’s decision to move on from Wilson drew significant criticism at the time. However, the results have largely vindicated him. Denver drafted Bo Nix with the 12th overall pick in 2024 and ended an eight-year playoff drought that same season. In 2025, the Broncos went 14-3, won the AFC West, and were the first seed in the AFC.
Had Nix not suffered an ankle injury at the end of their Divisional Round win against the Buffalo Bills, Denver could have potentially represented the AFC in last season’s Super Bowl.
Wilson, meanwhile, signed a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024 and helped them reach the playoffs before the season unraveled in December. He then joined the New York Giants on a one-year, $10.5 million contract in 2025, started three games, and was benched for rookie Jaxson Dart.
Wilson is currently an unsigned free agent, and all signs point to him potentially moving into the broadcasting space.
