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Ready to Deal With Aaron Rodgers’ ‘Conspiracy Theories’, Broncos Icon Regrets Russell Wilson Trade & Calls the Tenure ‘Awful’ Before Steelers Deal

Published 04/15/2024, 1:58 AM EDT

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Russell Wilson’s tenure at the Denver Broncos had been a debacle for the most part. When Sean Payton came in last year, the quarterback’s position in the team became even more uncertain, and eventually, Wilson moved to the Steelers from the Orange Army. However, there is a twist in the tale. Before the Broncos even hired Russell Wilson, they were giving serious thought to Aaron Rodgers and were willing to go “all in” for him.

However, Rodgers was also in two minds about leaving the Green Bay Packers at the time and the trade couldn’t happen due to some other complications. The former Broncos Guard, Mark Schlereth weighed in on the situation and tried to make a case as to why he would choose Aaron Rodgers over Russell Wilson for the Broncos.

Mark Schlereth makes his choice clear- Aaron Rodgers over Russell Wilson

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The hosts of the show “Schlereth and Evans” expressed that they had apprehensions about Russell Wilson. They questioned the Seahawks’ move of letting him go, despite him winning a Lombardi. “Hey, why is this guy a free agent? Why is the team that knew him the best willing to let him go?” To further stir the curiosity, one of the hosts raised another question.

Putting the Broncos former guard, Mark Schlereth under limelight about choosing Aaron Rodgers over Russell Wilson for Denver, he asked, ““With everything that we know now, all the context and everything, would you have rather gone through what we have with Russ or Aaron Rodgers in all his off-season nonsense, all that kind of stuff?”

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In reply to the question, the ex-Broncos OG said, “Oh I’d rather have Aaron Rogers. Aaron Rodgers is an absolute rugged play. Stone cold killer.” The veteran also added, “We got excited about Russ because we didn’t get Rodgers. We’re like, well, that’s the next best thing.”

While the statement started on a positive note, he later added, “Yeah, it was, it was awful,” referring to Wilson’s tenure with the Broncos. These expressions of the former professional were initially backed by the other host as well. He strongly reflected on how positive the team felt with Wilson’s addition after his Seahawk run.

Sadly, the argument that Russell Wilson being a Super Bowl winner would fix the Broncos might have been a bit flawed. The Broncos had to take action because Rodgers wasn’t yielding and was still making up his mind. But, the decision ultimately led to underpar seasons for the men in orange with Wilson at the center of it.

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Russell Wilson’s Super Bowl season

The Seahawks’ one and only Lombardi came in the 2013-2014 season. Russell Wilson was a part of it, but not completely. The infamous Legion of Boom was also responsible for helping the Seahawks through the Super Bowl and for another six consecutive winning seasons. So, when Wilson left the team, there were questions as to why the Seattle team was letting him go in the first place. Wilson had a sub par 3,357 yards and 26 touchdowns in that season.

USA Today via Reuters

But that didn’t stop George Paton from getting Wilson for a 5 year, $200 plus million deal, which ended up burning a massive hole in the Broncos pocket. After Wilson left, the Broncos were left with a record-breaking $85 million in dead cap. Now the Broncos are back to square one, without a QB. Again, history presents itself as A-Rod is still not available.

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The only hope for them is to do their best with the 1 round No. 12 pick in the coming draft.

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Written by:

Abhinav Prakash

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Abhinav Prakash is an NFL Writer at EssentiallySports. He covers several aspects of the game, more specifically core sports events. Abhinav has also covered Taylor Swift in great detail, apart from these stalwarts.
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Edited by:

Aazima Basharat