Following the Denver Broncos' firing of coach Nathaniel Hackett this week, much of the heat surrounding the club's inept play fell at the feet of quarterback Russell Wilson.
The veteran signal-caller's struggles are well-worn at this point. Wilson himself noted Wednesday he wished he "could've played better for" Hackett.
On Thursday, Wilson's teammates went to bat for the embattled quarterback. Receivers Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler tweeted their support. Offensive tackle Garett Bolles likewise took to social media, noting, "We have his back and know he wants nothing more than to WIN."
Jeudy expounded on his comments to the Denver scribes on Thursday.
"The media (is) trying to make it seem like something it ain't, y'all don't know what's going on in the locker room," Jeudy said, via ESPN. "I'm just tired of reading things about my boy, making it seem like 'oh he's not a good teammate' ... unnecessary stuff that's not true."
Wilson has produced the worst season of his 11-year NFL career in 2022, posting a career-low 12 touchdown passes and an 82.6 passer rating. With Wilson at the helm, the Broncos offense never got on the horse, looking out of sync and disjointed and lacking explosive plays all campaign.
Despite the on-field struggles, Broncos teammates rebutted any discussion that the QB had lost the locker room.
"I just wanted to get it out in the air that he is a good teammate and that he is a hard-working teammate," Jeudy said, "and I just feel like I need to get that out there because there's a lot of false narratives going around here that I'm getting tired of."
It's a positive, if not unexpected, that Broncos players are willing to go to bat for Wilson. With his massive contract signed this year, he's not going anywhere. The offseason is sure to be littered with comments and quotes in a similar vein, describing Wilson's renewed energy and focus with whoever is hired as the new coach.
The only thing that matters moving forward will be how the 34-year-old QB responds on the field in 2023.
