09 June 2023 , 15:43
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One of Russell Wilson ’s teammates has shown him some support following criticism of the quarterback.
The 34-year-old has come under fire for his performances during the course of his first season with the Denver Broncos. The AFC West team traded five draft picks, including two first- and two second-rounders, as well as three players to the Seattle Seahawks to sign Wilson in March 2022. Prior to this season, he signed an extension worth $245million, but the franchise hasn’t had much joy since. The three-time Super Bowl winners finished bottom of the league averaging just 16.9 points per game.
Wilson finished the campaign with a career-low 16 touchdown passes to go with a career-high 55 sacks. Despite posting some poor numbers last season, the Broncos’ left tackle Garett Bolles had a strong message for his teammates’ detractors. “He’s a great dude, he’s the same guy every single day, he works his butt off,” Bolles told ESPN. “And I’m ready for that stuff to go away and when it goes, everyone’s going to eat crow.”
Bolles spent the last 13 weeks of the season on the sidelines due to a fractured lower right leg and WIlson was one of his best supporters in the locker room. When asked about Wilson's ability to rebound from last season, he had no doubt in his mind.
"He's the same guy, he doesn't change; he's a leader,'' Bolles said. “He's one of the winningest quarterbacks [the] last 10 years, you guys know the stats, that's just who he is. ... Random rumours and things like that and the fire burns. It's like a forest fire, you start in one corner and the wind blows and it just burns thousands and thousands of acres, and that's sort of what happened. [But] he's not focused on that, he just wants to win."
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The team’s subpar season resulted in coach Nathaniel Hackett losing his job two games before the end of the campaign. As the Broncos’ campaign continued to spiral, Wilson was chastised for being ‘sluggish’ in what was described as a ‘mismatched, underperforming offense.’
The quarterback has been defended by his teammate Garett Bolles (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)But Wilson has been hard at work this offseason and showed up to Organised Training Activities (OTA) lighter and leaner than he was last season. The new Broncos' new head coach Sean Payton praised the quarterback’s work ethic so far. Bolles added that he was "angry [last season] with what came out" and that he takes it "very personal."
"I think he's phenomenal,'' Bolles continued. "We knew who he was as a person, we know who is. ... I love him dearly. I think he's one of the greatest quarterbacks in the game the last 10 years.
“Stats don't lie, just because you have one rough season in the last 10 years you can't dictate what type of guy, his personality, what he goes through."