Russell Wilson is getting a head start to find a new home.
The Denver Broncos granted their lame-duck quarterback permission to meet with other teams before they officially release him next week, according to ESPN.
The Broncos plan to cut Wilson once the new league year begins on March 13, the team announced Monday, and will reportedly eat $85 million in dead money on his mega-contract.
“Tough times don’t last, but tough people do,” Wilson said in a statement Monday. “God’s got me. I am excited for what’s next.”
The 35-year-old Wilson, a Super Bowl champion and nine-time Pro Bowler with Seattle, threw for 26 touchdowns against eight interceptions last year but went just 11-19 over two disappointing seasons with Denver.
Wilson is due $39 million next season, though any team that signs him could do so for a minimum $915,000 contract, leaving Denver to pay the rest.
The Broncos traded a haul including two first-round picks, two second-round picks and quarterback Drew Lock to the Seahawks to acquire Wilson in 2022, then signed him to a five-year, $245 million extension.
But Denver failed to make the playoffs in either of Wilson’s seasons there, even after hiring Super Bowl-winning coach Sean Payton before the 2023 campaign. The Broncos were 7-8 and still alive for a wild-card spot when they benched Wilson for backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham in December.
“We’re desperately trying to win,” Payton told reporters at the time. “Sure, in our game today, there are economics and all those other things, but the number one push behind this, and it’s a decision I’m making, is to get a spark offensively.”
Wilson then claimed the Broncos threatened weeks earlier to bench him if he declined to adjust a $37 million guarantee in his contract that would trigger if he failed a physical in the offseason. Wilson said he did not agree to do so.
It’s unclear how much of a market Wilson faces following back-to-back uneven seasons, especially with multiple quarterback-needy teams picking high in next month’s NFL Draft, which is considered deep at the position. Kirk Cousins is expected to be the most in-demand quarterback in free agency.
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