George Paton on the hot seat after Broncos bench Russell Wilson
Dec 27, 2023, 10:49 AM | Updated: 10:59 am
The future of Denver Broncos GM George Paton is very much up in the air.
After head coach Sean Payton benched QB Russell Wilson on Wednesday, it’s fair to wonder how much longer Paton will be employed by the Broncos.
He’s the man who pulled the trigger on the Wilson deal with the Seahawks in the spring of 2022, giving up three players and five draft picks. Drew Lock, Noah Fant and Shelby Harris all went to Seattle along with Denver’s first-round picks in 2022 and 2023, and their second-round picks those two years. The Broncos sent a fifth-round pick in 2022 as well, in exchange for Seattle’s fourth.
The Seahawks have since turned some of those picks into guys like offensive tackle Charles Cross and cornerback Devon Witherspoon. Denver used their only pick in the deal on defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike. He’s suspended for the year for gambling on NFL games and the Broncos.
Paton also extended Wilson before he played a snap for Denver, giving him a deal worth nearly a quarter of a billion dollars that hasn’t even kicked in yet. The Broncos will be on the hook for a huge dead cap number if they waive Wilson this spring, but will also save money if he’s not hurt. He has $39 million guaranteed for 2024, but an additional $37 million if he can’t pass a physical by early March.
Benching him now for backup QB Jarrett Stidham ensures he should be able to get through the physical in a few months.
Many thought that Paton would be fired last December, when the Broncos moved on from disastrous head coach Nathaniel Hackett. Hackett posted just a 4-11 mark before being dismissed the day after a Christmas Day meltdown in Los Angeles. Considering Paton hired Hackett and traded for Wilson, he could’ve gone as well.
But Broncos owner / CEO Greg Penner decided only to can Hackett, letting Paton work with Payton this season.
Now, it might be simply too awkward to have him in the building. All his major decisions have backfired, and the Wilson era is almost certainly over. Today will be about that, but a general manager opening in Denver may not be far behind.
