Christian McCaffrey’s Broncos Legend Dad Says Sean Payton Improved Russell Wilson Before Steelers Trade

“He’s still got gas in the tank,” is what Sean Payton had opined about 35-year-old veteran Russell Wilson in July last year. Boarding a sinking ship in 2023, the Super Bowl winning coach was determined to turn around Denver Broncos‘ fortunes. However, what he was attempting was arduous, to say the least, as the team finished their 2022 season with 5-12 record, tying a franchise record for losses in a season. On top of that, Russell Wilson wasn’t entering anybody good books either.

But stats-wise, the veteran coach’s entry into the team did help the QB as his performance improved marginally. And that’s exactly what San Francisco 49ers‘, Christian McCaffrey’s father Ed McCaffrey decided to focus on, despite the former Super Bowl winner’s controversy-plagued dismissal from the Broncos.

In a recent episode of RG3 and The Ones, he expressed, “I think it really can mentally affect a quarterback. You got to be super strong to kind of withstand a couple of rough seasons and not let it affect you, but I think coach Payton, he’s a little bit of a quarterback whisperer. I even saw a lot of improvement in Russell Wilson’s game from his first year to his second year. His numbers were way better and I thought he was more productive.”

Wilson, the Super Bowl winner, the Hall of Fame hopeful and one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in NFL, finished 2022 with a dismal passer rating of 84.4, the lowest of his career. However, 2o23 was marginally better with his passer rating coming up to a respectable 98.0 and his completion percentage resting at 66.4 (as opposed to 60.5, the year before). He also had a better touchdown-to-interception ratio of 26-to-8, compared to 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions under former coach Nathaniel Hackett. This was the highest number of passing touchdowns by a Broncos quarterback since Peyton Manning in 2014.

Under the former New Orleans Saints coach, the player showed improvement in some key areas but still faced significant challenges. The Broncos’ offense, although efficient at times, was largely inconsistent, which is unusual for a Payton-coached team.

Further in the conversation, the former player also lauded Payton’s abilities, mentioning his role in Drew Brees’ (whom he coached for 13 seasons at the New Orleans Saints) induction to the Hall of Fame. Notably, Brees and Payton clinched 142 victories, the second-most in NFL history for a coach-quarterback combination, trailing the 219 posted by Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. So, naturally, Brees had nothing but praise for his former coach.

“When I think about Sean Payton, he was this blend of, like, the exact way that I would want a head coach to be. His influences from Bill Parcells and others certainly brought out some of that old school mentality and that old school toughness and the kind of thing that we needed when he was first building this program back in 2006. But also this blend of, open-door policy,” Brees had said in a conversation with New Orleans Saints, in 2022.

Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be replicated by the coach and Broncos’ former QB.

What went wrong between Wilson and Payton?

March 2024 came as a bane for Russell Wilson, who, after just two years with the Denver Broncos, was shown the door. “We spoke to Russell Wilson today to inform him of his release after the start of the league year,” an official statement read. While it read like any more departing statement would, a hint of friction was visible in Wilson’s farewell post on X, that glaringly left out the team coach’s name.

But, perhaps, this animosity was a long-time coming! On December 16, 2o23, Payton was seen screaming at Wilson during the third-quarter of Broncos’ ugly loss(42-17) to the Detroit Lions. Later, when asked about what that anger was about, the coach revealed he was merely frustrated with some unfortunate developments during the match. However, when pressed further about the issue, Payton shut down reporters, saying, “Listen, what I talk with Russell about is none of your business.”

Reportedly, the duo’s relationship further soured after the player’s refusal to take a pay cut to stay with the team or face consequences. Wilson was added to the team with a five-year, $242.6 million contract in 2022 that would give the veteran quarterback, who is guaranteed $39 million in 2024 (whether he is on the team or not), another $37 million (his 2025 salary). Subsequently, to his dismay, Wilson was benched for the final two games of the regular season, after he declined to adjust his $37 million guarantee.

“They came up to me at the beginning of the bye week — Monday or Tuesday — and told me that if I didn’t change my contract, my injury guarantee, that I’d be benched for the rest of the year … I was definitely disappointed about it,” the former Seattle Seahawks player said, according to CNN.

On the other hand, when we talk about Wilson’s performance last year, in the lead-up to his dismissal, despite improvements, he struggled with missing reads, holding onto the ball too long, and turning it over. His passing yards were also lacking, averaging only 204.6 yards per game, which is not sufficient in the current NFL. Overall, while Wilson made some strides under Payton, he ultimately couldn’t make it to the playoffs.

Now that Wilson is with the Steelers, the gained ‘improvement’ from his previous team might help him excel in Steel City. What do you think?