Broncos should put Russell Wilson on the shelf for the rest of the season

On Friday, it was announced that Russell Wilson won’t play on Sunday against the Cardinals. Even though the Broncos quarterback has cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol, he won’t be on the field just seven days after being knocked unconscious against the Chiefs.

“Russell Wilson has passed the concussion protocol,” Nathaniel Hackett said on Friday. “With that being said, as an organization, we’ve decided to give him another week to get ready so he’s ready to go for the Los Angeles Rams.”

This is the smart and prudent thing to do. It’s in the best interests of the player, as opposed to the team. But it’s on the first step.

The Broncos should shut Wilson down for the rest of the season. The quarterback shouldn’t play this week, on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day or Jan. 8.

He’s done. Sit him down. And don’t let him near the field.

The risk-reward ratio just isn’t worth it. There’s very little to gain from having Wilson on the field, while there is a whole lot to lose by trotting him out there.

The quarterback is playing behind a makeshift offensive line, so he’s going to take plenty of hits if he plays. While this season has been a disaster, it becomes one of epic proportions if Wilson were to be injured in one of the final three games.

The Cardinals roll into town in a similar position as the Broncos. They’re out of the playoff chase, playing out the string in a disappointing season. But this in Arizona are much more bleak than in Denver. Why? Because their misery is going to bleed into 2023 as well.

Last week, Kyler Murray tore his ACL, ending his season. The Cardinals quarterback will also be on the shelf during minicamps, OTAs, training camp, preseason and the start of next year. He might not be back until Halloween or Thanksgiving or later. And at that point, who knows what he’ll look like.

At the very worse, the Broncos need to go into the offseason avoiding that situation. They have to guarantee themselves that the turnaround will at least have a healthy Russell Wilson at the center of it.

It’s hard to imagine now because the wounds are still fresh and this season has been such a mess, but there are ways to make next year look encouraging. It’s not a stretch to get things in a better spot.

Say the Broncos coax Jim Harbaugh from Michigan. Maybe they ink Mecole Hardman to a free-agent deal. Perhaps they draft a right tackle in the first round, re-sign Dre’Mont Jones, keep Ejiro Evero and his staff on defense, and get key players back from injury, namely Garett Bolles, Tim Patrick and Javonte Williams.

There’d be excitement for next season. People wound buy into the turn around.

Assume all of those things happen, however, and Russell Wilson isn’t in the equation. He’s sidelined until next December while recovering from a torn ACL suffered in Week 17 against the Chiefs. Suddenly, everything changes.

The Broncos will still have a ton of money tied up in a quarterback, so they won’t be able to spend on a free-agent to come plug the hole. Plus, no decent QB would want the gig, knowing that Wilson was going to return at some point. So they’d be stuck with Brett Rypien or some other journeyman signal caller.

And for what? So Wilson could try to get the Broncos to five or six wins this season? Who cares? What’s the point?

If he plays, the quarterback will be on the field with a bunch of players who likely won’t be teammates next season. He o-line is a hodgepodge. His running backs weren’t here at the start of this season and likely won’t return. Other than Jerry Jeudy, his wide receivers are practice squad players who will be elsewhere in 2023.

So there isn’t even a case to be made for building chemistry. It doesn’t even make sense to play this season as a way of jumpstarting next year.

The quarterback won’t like it. He’s a competitor and wants to play. That’s fine. He doesn’t get a vote.

The head coach and general manager might not like it. They’re trying to win football games to save their jobs. Too bad. They shouldn’t have guided the Broncos to this spot.

This needs to come from above. It needs to be Greg Penner’s decision. The Broncos owner has an investment to protect. He needs to be thinking about tomorrow, not today.

It’s easy to bag on Wilson at the moment. And for the most part, he deserves it. But deep down, everyone knows that the Broncos are much better off heading into next season with him as their quarterback than if he’s on the shelf with an injury.

Thus, Denver has to do everything possible to make sure that happens. That starts with making sure he doesn’t get anywhere near a football field for the rest of the 2022 season.

Russell Wilson’s season should be over. That’s the smart play.

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