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Jordan Raanan
denver broncos Coach Sean Payton said he was looking forward to facing the former quarterback Russell Wilson when his team played New York Giants This past Sunday. Peyton became a newbie jackson dart instead.
This caught Wilson’s attention.
“Classless… but not surprised… didn’t realize you’re still being hunted via media 15+ years later,” wilson wrote on x That was followed by some laughing emojis and the hashtag #LetsRide, a catchphrase he used at the end of his news conferences as a member of the Broncos from 2022 to 2023.
Wilson was responding to comments made by Payton after Sunday’s game, which the Broncos won 33-32 with a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback.
“I have a lot of respect for him [the Giants] organization,” Payton said. “I spent my first four years coordinating the Super Bowl, the first game in this stadium before 9/11, with Mara and the Tisch family.
“They got a little spark from that quarterback. I was talking to John Mara just a while ago and I said we were hoping to have a turnaround after a lot of our play.”
The change Payton was referring to was the switch from Wilson to Dart as the starter. The comment appeared to upset the usually calm Wilson.
Wilson responded with a “bounty hunting” dig at his former coach. That was in reference to the scandal with Payton. New Orleans Saints From 2009 to 2011, the team ran a cash-for-hit reward program run by former defensive coordinator Greg Williams.
Payton was suspended without pay for the entire 2012 season as a result.
Dart became the starter for the Giants last month when Wilson was ruled out after three games. This change has given rise to a once dormant crime in New York. The rookie scored four touchdowns Sunday (three passing, one rushing).
The game in Denver was a homecoming of sorts for Wilson, who was the backup for the Giants. He spent time signing jerseys and memorabilia on the field for Broncos and Giants fans before games.
Wilson was traded Seattle Seahawks to the Broncos in 2022, but his time in Denver ended abruptly when he was benched by Payton in 2023 and ultimately released in the 2024 offseason despite $85 million in dead money. The relationship between the coach and the quarterback had soured. It appears that it has not been repaired.
In Wilson’s two starts, the Broncos went 11–19 and failed to make the playoffs.
Some of Wilson’s hard feelings toward Payton may stem from Wilson’s contention that the Broncos threatened him at the start of the 2023 season with a waiver if Wilson did not waive the injury guarantees in his contract. At the time, Wilson was guaranteed $37 million (his 2025 salary) if he could not pass a physical on the fifth day of the new league year in March 2024.
Following Wilson’s release, Broncos owner/CEO Greg Penner denied that the team had threatened to bench Wilson over guarantees and said that he had tried to negotiate “in good faith” about any potential contract adjustments. At the time, Wilson said that the NFLPA “got involved” and that the NFLPA sent a letter to the Broncos stating that any such threat would be a violation of the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
ESPN’s Jeff Legvold contributed to this report.
