Sean Payton gives the latest update on Russell Wilson’s future with the Denver Broncos

INDIANAPOLIS — Two weeks.

That’s when the Denver Broncos will have their decision made about Russell Wilson’s future with the team.

“Next week, I think Tuesday, Wednesday we’ll be in meetings with ownership. I expect that we’re going to know fairly quickly,” Sean Payton told the media at the NFL Combine on Tuesday, when asked when the team will make a decision on Wilson’s future.

“More specifically, I think somewhere in the neighborhood of next week we’re going to — there’s a couple factors here. Obviously, the cap projections came out. We’re further down the road with the draft class, obviously the pro free agents. I would anticipate it being within the next two weeks,” the head coach added.

The decision the Broncos face is whether to move on from Wilson and take the biggest dead cap hit for a single player in NFL history or to keep the nine-time Pro Bowler.

It would not be a one-year commitment to Wilson, however. On Mar. 17, Wilson’s 2025 salary becomes fully guaranteed. The Broncos, however, will not wait to the final hours leading up to Mar. 17 to make their decision.

“Next two weeks,” Payton reiterated, when asked if the team will wait until Mar. 17 to make the decision.

The Broncos could also trade Wilson, but with his contract, it’s unlikely a team would be willing to make that move.

“You know, I haven’t heard anything from any teams,” George Paton said, when asked about a potential trade market for Wilson. “So, we’ll see.”

All indications are the Broncos will decide to move on from Wilson and eat the $85 million dead cap hit. After they do that, Payton will be tasked with fixing the Broncos’ quarterback dilemma that has haunted them since Peyton Manning retired following Super Bowl 50.

“Yeah. We better,” Payton stated, when asked if he embraces finding the Broncos’ next quarterback. “So the question was finding the right solution at quarterback. In this league, which is obviously very competitive, in our division, I think it’s vital.”

“I saw this humorous meme the other day where there’s a Bronco fan with a shirt on and there’s like eight quarterbacks names with a cross through it and he’s drinking the quarterback Kool-Aid,” the head coach explained. “Our job is to make sure this next one doesn’t have a line through it.”

On Tuesday night, the Broncos will meet with Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy at the Combine. The week in Indianapolis will be significant in the team’s plans to find their next quarterback. But Payton is confident in the Broncos’ ability to identify quality quarterback play.

“I think we’ll be really good at this,” the head coach stated. “And I think, to some degree, we’re glad that a lot of people aren’t.”