Russell Wilson Will Make Critics 'Eat Crow' in 2023, Broncos' Garett Bolles Says

Offensive tackle Garett Bolles' opening message to Russell Wilson after the quarterback's trade to the Denver Broncos included a guarantee to protect him from hits.

Apparently, he meant from the media as well as defensive ends.

Following Thursday's organized team activities, Bolles said critics of Wilson's 2022 campaign will "eat crow" next season, per ESPN's Jeff Legwold.

"He's a great dude. He's the same guy every single day. He works his butt off,'' Bolles said. "And I'm ready for that stuff to go away, and when it goes, everyone's going to eat crow.''

After signing a five-year, $245 million extension with the Broncos in September 2022, Wilson was sacked a league-high 55 times last season while recording a career-low 16 passing touchdowns.

After five consecutive Pro Bowl nominations, Wilson did not make the list in 2022. Meanwhile, the Broncos offense finished the season with an NFL-low 16.9 points per game while ranking 29th in percentage of drives ending in touchdowns (14.6 percent) and tying for 23rd in yards per play (5.1), per the Denver Post.

Bolles, who was limited to five games in 2022 by a broken leg, is adamant that Wilson will lead the offense's improvement next season.

"I think he's phenomenal,'' Bolles said. "... We knew who he was as a person, we know who [he] is ... I love him dearly. I think he's one of the greatest quarterbacks in the game the last 10 years. Stats don't lie, just because you have one rough season in the last 10 years you can't dictate what type of guy, his personality, what he goes through ... I was angry [last season] with what came out ... I take it very personal.''

This is not the first time Bolles has been an outspoken supporter of Wilson. He shared a statement backing the team's quarterback on Twitter last December after the Broncos fell to 4-11.

That statement, posted days after the firing of coach Nathaniel Hackett, conveyed a very similar message to what Bolles said during OTAs: Russell and the rest of Denver's offense are ready to bounce back from last season's struggles.

Broncos fans will certainly hope so as they look for coach Sean Payton to lead the team to its first winning season since 2016.