Former Broncos OT: Russell Wilson Is Using Seahawks Audibles 'That Guys Don't Know'

Former Denver Broncos offensive lineman Tyler Polumbus provided one reason why Russell Wilson might be struggling so much in his first season with the team.

On 92.5 FM Altitude Sports Radio Denver, Polumbus reported Wilson is already having disagreements with head coach Nathaniel Hackett about the play-calling. The nine-time Pro Bowler is also becoming more frustrated with the situation.

"Russell is losing his mind out there," Polumbus said. "He's at the line of scrimmage using audibles from the Seahawks. The guys don't know what the audibles are. He's using codewords that guys don't know what the codewords are."

The Broncos are 3-6 and rank 31st in offensive efficiency at Football Outsiders. This isn't where they expected to be after acquiring Wilson and handing him a five-year, $245 million extension.

Part of Denver's problems stem from Wilson's performance. He's on pace to set career lows in completion rate (57.4), touchdown percentage (2.60, passer rating (81.4) and QBR (33.0).

Beyond looking like the initial losers of the swap sending the 33-year-old to the Mile High City, the Seattle Seahawks drew criticism for allowing their relationship with the best player in franchise history to deteriorate to a point where he wanted out.

In retrospect, Seattle may have known exactly what it was doing.

You can take Polumbus' report in isolation and dismiss it as a symptom of a team getting off to a disappointing start. Sooner or later people will point fingers.

But the details align with what came out leading up to and after Wilson's exit from Seattle.

The Athletic's Mike Sando spoke with an NFL general manager in July who described Wilson as "a lot more high-maintenance."

Sando along with colleagues Michael-Shawn Dugar and Jayson Jenks previously reported in February 2021 how Wilson "has sought—even pushed—for influence within the organization regarding scheme and personnel" and "outlined his own ideas for how to fix the offense."

ESPN's Brady Henderson wrote a postmortem in September and detailed how "Wilson wanted out, believing coach Pete Carroll and the organization were holding him back." The Seahawks, meanwhile, had "misgivings about how his game was aging."

It sounds like the same issues Seattle experienced followed Wilson to Denver.

What's telling is that people inside the Broncos are already anonymously shading him to members of the press. He's a franchise quarterback signed through 2028 and in Year 1 the knives are coming out.

The Broncos can make a coaching change eventually and upgrade their receiving corps to improve things around Wilson. But this isn't boding well for how his tenure will unfold.