AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman
The Denver Broncos don’t plan on making a change at quarterback amid Russell Wilson’s ongoing struggles, at least at the moment.
Head coach Nathaniel Hackett told reporters on Wednesday that Wilson won’t be benched “right now” as the team looks to find answers for its disappointing offense.
The Broncos are in an almost impossible situation with Wilson right now. They have so much invested in him that it’s in their best interest to see if he can play his way out of this season-long slump.
It’s also in Hackett’s best interest to see if he can work with Wilson to turn things around. There have already been several rumors and reports about his future as Broncos head coach amid the team’s 3-8 start,
Peter King wrote in his Football Morning in America column this week that he will be “extremely surprised” if Hackett isn’t one-and-done in Denver.
There may not be anything Hackett can do to save his job at this point. Barring a dramatic turnaround and a lot of help from other teams in the AFC, the Broncos are going to miss the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season.
The Broncos offense under Hackett and with Wilson at quarterback is on pace to be the lowest-scoring unit in the NFL since 2000:
Wilson signed a five-year, $245 million contract extension with the Broncos in August that doesn’t even begin until the 2024 season. He has dead-cap hits of $107 million in 2023 and $85 million in 2024, per Spotrac.
After being one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL during his 10 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, Wilson has fallen off a cliff in his first year in Denver. The 34-year-old is completing 58.9 percent of his attempts for 2,369 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions in 10 starts.
If Hackett does want to bench Wilson, Brett Rypien is the Broncos’ backup quarterback. He started against the New York Jets in Week 7 when Wilson was out with a hamstring injury.
Rypien went 24-of-46 for 225 yards with no touchdowns and one interception in a 16-9 loss.