As we finally turn to the Broncos, legacies are on the line this year

A couple members of the Denver Broncos are playing this year for how they’ll be remembered.

Legacies are on the line.

That might sound a little dramatic, but it’s the truth.

First though, let’s rewind.

For a second straight summer the city of Denver got to have a parade. It was the Avalanche being honored in 2022, and the Nuggets rolling through the streets in 2023. Both celebrations were glorious, as each team we thought could win a championship proved us right.

Broncos QB Russell Wilson was spotted at games for both. The Avs last year when he was the new guy in town and still beloved. The Nuggets this year, when a lot of fans rolled their eyes at Wilson being in the building. That’s how bad his first and only season in Denver went.

There’s no need to reset all the jokes Wilson endured, all the memes he became the star of. But has a quarterback gone from so universally respected to mocked relentlessly in the span of four months? I can’t think of an example.

And all those people that thought Wilson was a surefire Hall of Famer after making nine Pro Bowls in 10 seasons in Seattle might want to rethink their stance. If he plays as poorly as he did in 2022 this upcoming season, are we sure he’s headed to Canton one day? I’m not.

Wilson’s had a much quieter offseason in terms of social media than he did a year ago when he was traveling the world, and that has to be by design. He also looks noticeably skinnier, an admission he was too heavy a year ago.

These are both huge steps, but they are also telling ones. Wilson seemingly knows his legacy is on the line this year.

If he bounces back and returns to a Pro Bowl level, it will be one of the best stories in the NFL. It’ll answer once and for all that Nathaniel Hackett was one of the worst head coaches in league history, and the problems last year were all on him, not Wilson.

If he doesn’t, and the Broncos try to find a way to dump his contract and take a massive salary cap hit, it’ll go down as the biggest flop of a trade in NFL history. And Wilson isn’t getting a starting job anywhere else, but could maybe swallow his pride and become a backup.

That is a massive fork in the road, there’s no other way to slice it. How Wilson performs in 2023 will go a long way toward how he’s remembered 20, 30 and 40 years from now.

But he’s not the only one feeling the pressure. For as great of a player as safety Justin Simmons is, he hasn’t won squat during his time in Denver. He arrived the year after Super Bowl 50 only for the Broncos to miss the playoffs. They haven’t had a record over .500 since.

Simmons doesn’t want to go down as a losing player when it’s all said and done. His career will get looked at way differently if he never steps on the field during a playoff game.

Simmons, like Wilson, needs to win and needs to win now. The clock is ticking on his time in the league, because you blink and just like that he’s one of the older players on the Broncos. It’s not that his time in the NFL is done after this year, it’s just he probably has more seasons behind him than he does in front of him.

And you better believe owner / CEO Greg Penner and head coach Sean Payton won’t be afraid to make major, major changes if this season is a bust. Wilson and Simmons (along with GM George Paton) would be among the first to go.

These guys know it, which is a good thing, but it also can’t be ignored. Legacies are on the line this year.

Let’s just hope some of that Avalanche and Nuggets winning rubs off on the Broncos.

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