Broncos Praised Over Record-Breaking $85 Million QB Decision
The Denver Broncos are drawing a new round of praise for their historic decision at the most important position: quarterback. More specifically, the Broncos are drawing attention again for their transition from
Nix’s Broncos are 4-2 through six weeks in 2025. Moreover, they are coming off a 10-win season and their first playoff berth in a decade in 2024. It is a stark contrast from where the Broncos were in 2023, with Wilson at quarterback instead of Nix.
Wilson was 6-11 during his tenure as the Broncos’ QB1, but moving on set a precedent.
The Broncos did it anyway. The decision cost them a record $85 million in dead cap space and laid the foundation for their current success.
Broncos Praised Over Move From Russell Wilson to Bo Nix
GettyRussell Wilson #3 of the New York Giants warms up before facing the Kansas City Chiefs.
ESPN’s Jeff Legwold detailed
Legwold broke the Broncos’ success into three key factors: buy-in from ownership, Nix, and working with the draft capital they had after surrendering a package that included two first-round picks and a pair of seconds to the
They also extended Wilson, giving him a five-year, $245 million contract.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton moved on in Year 1 of that deal, leading to the dead money. Ownership having the “league’s deepest pockets” helps.
“The resources of the Penner group have enabled the Broncos to pony up more upfront money guaranteed at signing in contract extensions than most teams could, multiple league sources said,” Legwold wrote. “Even with the dead money from the Wilson release, the Broncos have guaranteed a combined $228.42 million at signing the past two offseasons” in extensions.
“They could do that because they had the cash for the upfront [guarantees] in those deals available when they wanted to make them, when maybe other people couldn’t have pulled that off,” an anonymous AFC general manager, who also praised ownership, told Legwold. “They had a young core they have kept together to give them continuity when that’s hard to hold together in a cap situation.
“And [the Broncos got] the quarterback.”
From new facilities to a stadium project, both privately funded, and the spending on guaranteed money for extensions and free agents, the Walton-Penner Group has made its mark.
Bo Nix Key to Everything for Broncos
GettyBo Nix #10 of the Denver Broncos looks on after the game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Broncos’ owners may be the driving force behind the team’s current success. Nix is the ingredient that makes it work for the Broncos, though, tying Legwold’s final two factors together.
Wilson is now a backup on the New York Giants, the Broncos’ opponent in Week 7.
Nix has faced scrutiny over many advanced metrics. He ranks among the worst starting QBs, not just in his draft class, but in the entire league. Still, Nix’s historic rookie season gave the Broncos the confidence to spend as they did.
It is also the reason why their ability to maximize the draft capital they had after acquiring Wilson – and Payton in 2023, for that matter – is viewed through that lens.
Nix’s teammates are fully behind him, and he was an active recruiter this past offseason.
Wilson, meanwhile, is on his third team in three seasons. He could soon suit up for a fourth, since
Vikings QB Carson Wentz Primed for ‘Revenge Game’ Against Eagles in Week 7
There is one specific storyline that’s going to come up whenever any NFL team faces one of its old starting quarterbacks. One part of that formula is we can usually ratchet up that attention the higher the draft pick.
While some of that luster may have been lost for a variety of reasons, when the Minnesota Vikings host the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in Week 7, they’ll do so with Carson Wentz starting at quarterback in place of injured 2024 first round pick J.J. McCarthy.
That’s notable because Wentz, once upon a time, was the player the Eagles pinned all of their franchise hopes and dreams on.
To recap: Philadelphia drafted Wentz No. 2 overall out of North Dakota State in the 2016 NFL draft, watched him earn NFL All-Pro honors and win a Super Bowl in his second season and signed him to a 4-year, $128 million contract extension before the 2019 season.
To say Wentz doesn’t have extra motivation against the team he used to play for and the player who ultimately took his spot in quarterback and reigning Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts would be to simply deny the human condition.
No matter what anyone on either side might say, it matters.
There was some speculation McCarthy might return for the Vikings after missing the last 4 games due to an ankle injury until head coach Kevin O’Connell announced Wentz would make his fourth consecutive start.
“The Carson Wentz revenge game is officially on,” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo wrote on his official X account on October 17. “Kevin O’Connell announces Wentz will start for the Vikings against the Eagles.”
‘Revenge’ Narrative Not Really What It Seems
This isn’t the first time Wentz has faced his old team. In his only other time facing the Eagles, Wentz started for the Washington Commanders in a 24-8 loss in 2022 in which he was largely ineffective, going 25-of-43 passing for 211 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.
No matter how media types might want to spin it, sometimes a “revenge” narrative might not always be what it seems — something Eagles Pin Pull podcast host Shane Haff astutely pointed out is the case with Wentz.
“Hard to call it a revenge game when the team benched you while you were playing terribly and then acquiesced to your trade request in the offseason, trading you to the coach you wanted to play for,” Haff wrote on his official X account on October 17. “The Eagles didn’t do wrong by Carson Wentz. Every time a player plays a former team we don’t have to call it a ‘revenge’ game.”
Wentz Made NFL History in 2025
Wentz made NFL history when he started for the Vikings in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals, becoming the first quarterback to start for 6 different teams in 6 consecutive seasons.
Wentz started 12 games for the Eagles in 2020, 17 games for the Indianapolis Colts in 2021, 7 games for the Commanders in 2022, 1 game for the Los Angeles Rams in 2023 and 1 game for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2024.
“If he starts for the Vikings this weekend, Carson Wentz would become the first quarterback in NFL history to start at least one game for six different teams in six consecutive seasons,” ESPN’s Bill Barnwell wrote on his official X account on September 15.
