New report denies Broncos threatened to bench Wilson months ago

The Denver Broncos and QB Russell Wilson have had a tumultuous 24 hours.

First, reports surfaced the Broncos would bench the veteran quarterback for the final two games of the season in favor of backup Jarrett Stidham.

Then, Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report said the team actually threatened to bench Wilson two months ago. Schultz claimed they told him after a win against the Chiefs that if he didn’t redo an injury clause in his contract, he’d be benched and made inactive the rest of the season.

Dianna Russini then tweeted on Wednesday night that Wilson was expecting to be cut by the team. Wilson “liked” posts on social media that claimed the team threatened him with a benching over the contract issue. If Wilson can’t pass a physical in March, Denver would owe him an additional $37 million. That’s on top of the $39 million cash already guaranteed to Wilson in 2024.

But 104.3 The Fan and 9NEWS Broncos insider Mike Klis is disputing all this, through sourcing of his own. In a new article on Thursday afternoon, Klis is painting a very different picture.

“Multiple league sources close to the Broncos strongly denied threats were made, adding his benching was strictly a football decision, with the previous contract conversations from two months ago not being a factor,” Klis wrote.

This is becoming the ultimate “he said, he said” situation, with both sides pushing opposing narratives.

We’ll see if the real story ever comes to light, but for now, Wilson hasn’t spoken publicly about the decision other than an interesting tweet on Wednesday night. Payton has claimed the move was strictly about football, as Klis is reporting.

Regardless, it’s turning into a messy divorce, with plenty of news still to come. You can read the full article from Klis here.