After a terrible 1-5 start, it looks like the Denver Broncos will have to move on for quarterback Russell Wilson.
Wilson bounced back from a disastrous 2022 season, going 122-of-165 passing for 12 TDs and four interceptions. However, the 34-year-old has four years remaining on his $242.5 million contract. In addition, his 2025 salary ($37 million) is fully guaranteed on the fifth league day of 2024. “I think the Broncos need to bite the bullet and cut him before the 2025 guarantees kick in,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano wrote. “Set him up for a cut after June 1, take $35.4 million in dead money in 2024, about $49 million more in 2025 and draft a QB to build around.”
The Broncos could try to trade Wilson to avoid that, but that’s unlikely. Teams don’t want aging QBs on expensive contracts.
Moving on from Wilson is expensive, but a rookie QB contract mitigates the cap hit. According to Tankathon, the Broncos have the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and North Carolina’s Drake Maye. According to OverTheCap, he would have a four-year deal (including a fifth-year option) worth up to $42.7 million.
Denver has just a one percent chance of making the postseason, according to The New York Times’ simulator. So taking backup QB Jarett Stidham from Wilson is not unreasonable. Besides, he is not injured.
“2025 salary guaranteed barring injuries,” wrote ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. “It would be a drastic step, but financially sound, if the losses pile up in mid to late November.”
Not all of the Broncos’ problems involve Wilson. Their defense is last in the NFL in points per game (33.3). However, the franchise has gone 6-18 over the past two seasons and needs to rebuild. The former Pro Bowler’s contract complicates the r
Kenyan Drake’s tenure with the Ravens is over. According to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, Baltimore released the veteran running back from the practice squad. Drake managed 12 games (five starts) for the Ravens in 2022, mostly out of necessity due to injuries throughout the backfield. After a brief stint in Indy, Drake landed back in Baltimore in late September with J.K. Dobbins’ season-ending injury. The manager won a number of promotions in his second stint with the Crows. He had three touches for 31 yards in Week 3, but a crucial fumble led to limited snaps when he appeared the following week in Week 5. Undrafted rookie Keaton Mitchell is now healthy and on the active roster. With Gus Edwards and Justice Hill leading the depth chart, it would be difficult for Drake to earn a promotion in the coming weeks. The Ravens also still have veteran Melvin Gordon and rookie Owen Wright on the practice squad, so Drake wasn’t even the first choice if Baltimore suffers another injury at the position. It is possible that the 29-year-old defender will find a new home before the end of the season. Drake isn’t too far off a 2020 campaign in which he had 1,000 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns, but he still averaged 4.5 yards per 126 carries in 2022.
The Minnesota Wild announced Tuesday night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens that defenseman Alex Goligoski is out with a lower-body injury. In light of this injury, Michael Russo of The Athletic reported that Goligoski was injured while practicing with the team on Monday. Goligoski is in the final season of a two-year, $4 million contract with the Wild that runs through 2022, and he’s not off to the best start to his final season in the NHL. In the team’s first two games, Goligoski averaged just over 17 minutes of ice time, scoring zero points, blocking five shots and already carrying a -3 rating. In Minnesota’s last game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Goligoski converted a tripping penalty early in the second period to give the Maple Leafs a 4–1 lead on the night following Tyler Bertuzzi’s power play. The Wild ended the second period on a high note, pulling within one goal to tie the game. Despite this, Goligoski was unsportsmanlike about seven minutes into the third period
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