Hackett denies reports that Russell Wilson has “lost” Broncos locker room

On Tuesday night, some heads were turned by a controversial NFL Network podcast / video.

The show featured league insiders Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo discussing the Broncos for a chunk of it, and they shared some interesting details of what they’re hearing. Obviously, at 3-8, Denver’s season has been a mess. And the trade to acquire Russell Wilson back in March hasn’t worked out at all. Both he and head coach Nathaniel Hackett are taking a ton of heat.

Perhaps the biggest headline to come from the conversation was Pelissero saying this isn’t a Hackett problem. It’s actually a Wilson problem.

“Russ has lost some people around that team. He has lost some people in that locker room,” Pelissero said.

For context, Pelissero is a well-connected NFL insider. This wasn’t someone doing a podcast in their mom’s basement. This is a legitimate and trusted source around the league. So, it’s a very curious development, and Pelissero wouldn’t say it unless he had heard it. Now, whether there’s truth to it or not is a different story. People all have agendas, so he could have been leaked bad information.

At his press conference on Wednesday, Hackett was asked specifically if Wilson has “lost” the Broncos locker room.

“Yeah, I heard that a little bit. To me, it’s all gossip. I know this locker room — we have a fantastic locker room. When you look at a guy like Russ, he’s unbelievable. I’ve never seen somebody work that hard. I’ve never seen somebody try to embrace a team like he has while he’s here,” Hackett said.

That’s certainly a denial from Hackett, and a pretty good one. He’s going to know the locker room better than anyone else, and saying it’s gossip is a shot at Pelissero’s credibility. That doesn’t mean the report is wrong, but the head coach did a nice job of debunking it. Hackett went on to praise Wilson further.

“Just from everything that he does. From walkthroughs, to how he is in the community. I mean, Russ is awesome. And we just need to do better as a team. It’s the simple. All that stuff, it is what it is. I love Russ,” Hackett said.

Hackett also mentioned he isn’t considering making a QB change away from Wilson, so these aren’t just empty words. He’s going to keep rolling Wilson out there, hoping this thing gets right.

Whether it does or not is a different story, but for now, the Broncos appear to be on the same page.

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