Keyshawn Johnson: If Wilson doesn’t perform, Payton will dump him after ’23

Longtime NFL wide receiver and current ESPN analyst Keyshawn Johnson made some interesting comments about Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson on Wednesday.

Particularly, when it comes to Wilson’s future in Denver, should he not play well this upcoming season.

Appearing on NFL Live, Johnson was asked if head coach Sean Payton can “fix” the Broncos quarterback after his worst season as a pro. Johnson’s first answer was somewhat encouraging.

“I think he can, he can certainly fix him. And if he doesn’t, it won’t be on Sean Payton, it would be on Russell Wilson. I think when you look at Sean Payton’s history at the quarterback position, he’s done a tremendous job getting quarterbacks ready to play, getting quarterbacks ready to have Hall of Fame careers like Drew Brees,” Johnson said.

But it’s how the answer continued that will certainly raise a few eyebrows.

“I know Sean very, very, very well. Very well. And I can guarantee you that if it don’t go the way he wants it to go, despite salary cap ramifications and what not, there’s gonna be some major changes and issues at the QB position in 2024 for the Denver Broncos,” Johnson said.

Johnson and Payton overlapped in Dallas for a couple of season toward the end of the wide receiver’s career and right before Payton got the head-coaching job in New Orleans. That was back in 2004 and 2005, but it’s not unreasonable to think they’ve remained friends.

And while Wilson has a dead cap hit of $85 million in 2024 should the Broncos chose to move on, as Johnson mentions, he thinks they’ll find a way around it. You can watch the full clip below.

"I know Sean [Payton] very well and I can guarantee you that if it don't go the way he wants it to go … there's gonna be some major changes and issues at the QB position in 2024"

—@keyshawn on the future for the Broncos 👀 pic.twitter.com/XBOMGMdpFh

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) April 12, 2023

It’s certainly something worth monitoring, as Johnson is laying the groundwork that if Payton doesn’t like what he sees from Wilson this year, he’ll cut ties. If the money wasn’t such an issue, that wouldn’t be shocking, but it may take some salary cap gymnastics to make it work.

But Payton proved time and again in New Orleans he could navigate around the cap, and he might have to do it next offseason in Denver — if Wilson can’t find his old form.

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