With Russell Wilson leaving the Denver Broncos, the franchise finds themselves in a bit of a pickle. Their salary cap space is tight, which makes it tricky to pick up fresh talent in the Draft or even bring in seasoned pros. On top of that, they’ve got to cough up $39 million for Wilson in 2024, even though he won’t be hitting the field for them. Wilson, meanwhile, has smoothly transitioned to his new gig with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

And of course, the finger-pointing has started. Some folks reckon Sean Payton might be the reason behind Wilson’s departure, but there’s a camp firmly backing Payton. This whole fiasco has sparked a fresh debate on social media, all thanks to a podcaster stirring the pot.

Mark Schlereth comes to Sean Payton’s defense

Russell Wilson fans were clearly not pleased when their hero was benched. Even more so when he was released from the team during the offseason. They laid all the blame on Sean Payton for “sabotaging” him. But Mark Schlereth was going to have none of it. On the “Stinkin’ Truth Podcast”, he defended Payton from what he thought were “stupid allegations”.

“His office is a tiny little hole in the wall. And to sit there and say Sean Payton doesn’t love his players? He loves his players! He wants to put them in the best position to win.” He went on to drive home the point by saying that he didn’t intentionally do that. Payton wouldn’t want to hurt one of his players because that in turn would dampen his chances of winning.

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The former Broncos guard had also defended Payton when being accused of bias.

Mark Schlereth slams fan comment on Payton

An X user didn’t hold back, calling out the former guard. Schlereth had suggested that Wilson might have played a part in his own downfall. The user posted, “You are carrying Sean Payton’s water Mark. Y’all acting like that dude is Vince Lombardi 😂,” hitting him with some real talk on one of his tweets.

Schlereth fired back, “Bulls**t… if you think Sean Peyton sabotage Russell Wilson, then you’re a moron.” But he didn’t stop there. Later on a podcast, he said that Russ fans don’t know what happens behind the scenes. So it’s totally unfair for them to point fingers at Payton for allegedly “sabotaging” Wilson.

But now with Wilson in the Steelers, it’s the Broncos who are left without a veteran QB. With free agency starting today, they will be looking for a replacement for Wilson.