A former co-worker of Sean Payton floats he could move on from Russell Wilson

You can’t talk about the future of Russell Wilson in a Broncos uniform without discussing his contract. And specifically, the clause that calls for another $37 million — his 2025 salary — to become guaranteed if he is on the Broncos’ roster for the fifth day of the 2024 league year, which is March 17.

So, even with the anvil of an $85 million dead-money salary cap hit weighing over the Broncos — which can be spread over two seasons — it’s an issue that lingers. Especially with the Broncos offense appearing limited in its scope — especially compared to the attacks Sean Payton guided in New Orleans with Drew Brees at the helm. And even Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston brought attributes, too.

Which leads to what Fox Sports 1 host Colin Cowherd said on his show Monday.

“I don’t think it’s a perfect fit,” Cowherd said of the football marriage between Russell Wilson and Payton.

“I think if you ask Sean Payton — and he now has the power in the building; he’s helped fix the defense; he’s got Russell being as good as he can possibly be — I think he would move off him and take a huge cap hit for a year.”

Cowherd and Payton were Fox Sports colleagues last year, while Payton worked a season for the network as an in-studio NFL analyst. And last January, Cowherd was in front of the news connecting Payton to Denver — at one point noting that he had dinner with Payton.

So, with that connection in mind, Cowherd’s assertions are worth noting. And they serve as perhaps the first indication that Payton may be willing to absorb the cataclysmic dead-money hit of Wilson’s contract in order to clear the deck at quarterback going forward.

Cowherd went on to note the differences in personalities between Payton and Russell Wilson — specifically in the wake of Payton’s sideline harangue in the direction of the quarterback on Saturday night.

“Not only are they opposite personalities — Russell is relentlessly optimistic; Sean is authentic, emotional, demanding and critical — but Russell Wilson isn’t Brees, the passer or Taysom Hill, the athlete,” Cowherd said. “So, Sean Payton isn’t getting elite with either one of [those attributes].

“And, I’ve gotta tell you this: This relationship with Brees and Payton was so great, that invariably this was going to be a disappointment. And I was hopeful that he could turn Russell Wilson around — and he has. You’re getting a lot of Russell in Seattle. But I was just hoping it wouldn’t be combative, because they’re literally different people.

“I know both. They’re totally different people. But now it’s combative. And he’s right: It is none of our business. We can ask about it, but he does not have to provide an answer. But I just think these are different people. I don’t think it’s a perfect fit.

“… Wat’s happening is that Sean Payton had Drew Brees for years. And it was a perfect marriage. Their personalities are demanding and intense and authentic, and it was perfect. So, this invariably was not going to be great. But Drew Brees was a little small, and Sean worked around that and designed plays and Brees hit on them.

“The plays are there. Sean Payton has a history with Brees that he hit those things 95 percent of the time. And he’s not hitting them [with Wilson]. So, the personality clash, the enormous salary-cap hit — it doesn’t work.”

Wilson has enjoyed a bounce-back season under Payton’s guidance this season in some metrics. But while his passer rating has rebounded to near his Seattle days, other metrics — QBR, expected points added per play — lag. And the Broncos offense as a whole hasn’t generated more than 24 points since Week 4.

There is no doubt Wilson is much better. But as Cowherd noted, there is doubt as to whether that is enough to absorb more cost.