Seven years after the Broncos last won a Super Bowl, new quarterback Russell Wilson believes this year's squad is poised to take home a title again. And that's the main reason he came to Denver.
Wilson has reached the Super Bowl before in Seattle, making appearances in back-to-back years in 2013 and 2014, winning the first of those trips. While the Seahawks have faded from playoff contention since then, Wilson still has the chops to lead a good team to a deep postseason run, and maybe to a Super Bowl title. Wilson believes that Denver is a city where he could make that happen. So when the 33-year-old was approached about being traded away from Seattle, he put the Broncos on the top of his list of destinations.
“It’s been a blessing just to come here, just to come to an amazing city like Denver, to be a part of it with so many amazing teammates and great coaching staff,” Wilson said Friday, via video from Zac Stevens of DNVR Sports. “But also, once the trade was going to happen, I said, ‘Hey, listen, I want to make sure that I go to a city that wants to win. I want to make sure I that I go to a team that wants to win. And I want to go to a city that knows how to win.’ And all those three things were checked off the box here in Denver and so I think we’ve got a chance.”
The Broncos have three Super Bowl wins as a franchise, most recently winning Super Bowl 50 in 2015 under Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning. Since Manning's retirement after that season, the Broncos' main hindrance to success has been their lack of a solid franchise quarterback, as all the other pieces of the offense and defense are playoff-ready. With the trade, the Broncos received the franchise QB they've been wanting for years. And for Wilson, he's joining a team that is wanting to win now and has the capabilities to do so. It could be a match made in heaven.
One sports team in Colorado, the Avalanche, is already fighting to win an NHL championship this week. We'll see if the Broncos can follow suit this fall and put together the pieces to bring home another title for Denver. As Wilson said, it's a city that knows how to win.