ESPN analyst says two times Sean Payton “hated” Russell Wilson
Mar 5, 2024, 11:10 AM
Former NFL wide receiver Harry Douglas went off on ESPN’s “Get Up” when it came to the Sean Payton and Russell Wilson relationship in Denver.
And Douglas is firmly on the side of Wilson.
One day after we learned the Broncos will be releasing Wilson and taking on the largest dead cap hit in NFL history, Douglas says this was doomed from the start. He also had some strong accusations against Payton, saying multiple times he “hated” Wilson.
Remember, this is the same Harry Douglas that tried to injure Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. in a game in Tennessee against the Titans back in 2016. That also led to an epic Aqib Talib rant after the game.
Regardless, take a listen to Douglas from this morning for yourself.
.@HDouglas83 says Sean Payton and Russell Wilson "was a match made in hell." 👀 pic.twitter.com/iIcsMIEHNr
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) March 5, 2024
“From what I witnessed from Sean Payton when it came to Russell Wilson, since the moment he got there… they didn’t only dislike Russell Wilson, in my eyes… he hated Russell Wilson. I think that was evident to see,” Douglas said.
Douglas mentions the Broncos infamously asking Wilson to re-work the injury-clause guarantee in his contract during the middle of the season, right after Denver had finally ended its miserable losing streak to the Chiefs.
He then goes on to discuss the meltdown in Detroit, where Payton ripped into Wilson on the sideline for everyone to see.
“You publicly humiliate him on TV in front of the world. That doesn’t tell me you like him. It tells me you might hate him,” Douglas said.
It will cost the Broncos $85 million in dead cap to move on from Wilson, so Douglas is at least correct that Payton didn’t want to work with him anymore. The rest of his rant could be a little dramatic, or it could not be, depending on who you believe.
“I don’t think Russell Wilson deserved a lot of the treatment he got from the Denver Broncos organization,” Douglas concluded.