Brandon Stokley, Former Broncos WR/Host of Stokley & Josh on Denver Sports

Let's face it, most people aren't making massive turkey feasts on the regular.

And after 364 days of not thinking about it, it can be hard to get that bird just right. That's where Instacart, the holiday rescue app comes in. From getting all the ingredients to prep a full seasonal spread to getting last minute swaps in a turkey emergency, Instacart has everything a holiday host needs to save face and save dinner. And right now, if you download Instacart, you'll get free delivery on your first three orders and delivery in as fast as one hour.

Offer valid for a limited time, $10 minimum per order, additional term supply. Alrighty, rocking and rolling. Hour number three of our radio program. It is the Zach Gelb show. Coast to coast on CBS Sports Radio. Brandon Stokely, of course, the former wide receiver with the Ravens, the Colts, the Broncos, the Seahawks, the Giants as well.

One, two Super Bowls. And now does a talk show in Denver is on the line with us right now. The big news today, Russell Wilson benched and Jared Stidham is going to start the next game for the Denver Broncos and the plan is to go with Stidham for the final two games of the season.

So let's react to it as it looks like this is the end of the Russell Wilson era in Denver. Brandon Stokely is with us right now on CBS Sports Radio. Brandon, appreciate the time. How are you? I'm doing great.

Thanks, Zach. So when this news came down today, your initial reaction was what? I was really surprised. I just didn't think it was going to happen. I just thought they got this far. We've been talking about playoffs for the last four, five, six weeks and it's been fun. And, you know, we had talked about this rough situation earlier in the year when they were playing really bad, but we got away from that.

We got off of that. They didn't make any trades at the thread trade deadline. It just seemed like they were all in with this group and they went this far and they were probably going to continue with Russ here the last couple games, so I didn't see them pulling the rug out from underneath Russ with two games left. So I, especially with the way that they were on that winning streak and now, yeah, they're pretty much done with the playoffs, but I was definitely surprised to get the news today. Russ has been solid this year.

He's been improved. I would still say he's very far away from being great or being elite anywhere in that category. But let's just say you're a player in that locker room.

Would you be annoyed? Because they're still alive. I know they only have seven wins, but they're still in this with two games left in the season and now you hear Jared Stidham is going to be the quarterback. Yeah, you know, I think it depends on how you view Russ, you know, he's played well, but there might be some guys in that locker room that think that Stidham might be a little bit of an upgrade that might give them a boost in the passing game. Russ has been fine this year, but he is a tough guy to block for if you're an offensive lineman and playing wide receiver position for him. Broncos really don't have a tight end or slot receiver. So just an outside wide receiver, like it's hard.

He's not on time on rhythm with hardly anything that he does in the passing game. So it makes it very difficult as a wide receiver and it makes it very difficult as an offensive lineman. So some of those guys in the locker room might be looking at this as a breath of fresh air, honestly. I know that you said that you were surprised by this.

Do you think this is the right move with all that you just said, Brandon Stokely? Well, you know, I'm surprised that it happened now. And we've talked a lot about this throughout the year. There's things that have happened since game one that I knew was going to drive Sean Payton crazy with Russell Wilson.

And it's continued throughout this season. And so I just thought they got this far down the road that that they would that they would just continue with Russell last two games. So that's that's why I'm surprised this late in the process. I thought it had a chance to happen. But once they went on the win streak, I didn't I thought they were going to just finish this thing out. So it's it's a business decision, honest, you know, obviously they're looking at the future.

They're looking at, you know, they're going to be turning the page on this so they don't want to be stuck on the hook with this with this contract for any longer. You know, I know Sean is addicted to coaching and he was out for a year. He was working with Fox. It's probably a more enjoyable, stress-free lifestyle, but that's not made for every other coach. When he took the Broncos job, we all knew he wanted the Chargers job.

It just wasn't open. Like, do you ever think that this was a marriage that was set up to succeed with Sean and the Denver Broncos? Well, that's a tough one. You know, I think Russ needs a certain coach. I think Ross, you know, his better days are behind him. He's not as mobile as it used to be. He still can play quarterback.

He still can make plays, probably not at an elite level anymore. And you thought maybe the marriage between the two, Sean could get the best out of him. And he's done a good job.

He's done a really good job. But just some of the things that Russ does, you can tell just drive Sean crazy. And it started from game one and it's happened throughout the season. And there's nothing that's on time on rhythm in the passing game. You know, sometimes the plays were getting slow, getting out, you know, from the quarterback and some of the timeouts.

We all saw the one play where Sean was ripping the referees and he started ripping Russell Wilson after that. And so I think you knew it was going to end and so you just don't want to be stuck with that contract. Now, does Sean have regrets about taking the job?

I don't think so. I think he knew it was going to be a challenge. And now you're going to start all over. You've got to find a quarterback though.

Ultimately, that's what it boils down to. It seemed like their last good moment together for Russell Wilson and Sean Payton was right when they got put together and they went to that dinner. Like after that, I don't think Sean really has ever liked Russ as a quarterback.

They're not, their personalities are totally different. You know, Russ is that everything is great. Everything is awesome. I love all my teammates.

They're the best. And Sean's just like, keep it real, man. And he told Russ, he's like, he said this to the media. He said, you know, no more of this kissing baby stuff, you know, that needs to stop.

And I'm paraphrasing to a certain degree there. But so their personalities are so different. They never vibe.

They never connected. And now when you're winning football games and, you know, everything from the outside, a lot of the national media, they look at the stats and they're not grinding week in and week out, play in and play out. And when you're getting three, four or five turnovers, when they like, like they were doing on their winning streak and Russ was getting those extra possessions, it seemed like he was playing like a, you know, an all pro. In reality, he needed a lot of help. And, and I think Sean just got fed up with holding his quarterback's hand that's making, you know, thirty five, forty, fifty million dollars a year every single week and trying to babysit Russell Wilson.

Talking to Brandon Stokely right now. So they make this move. I don't know what the expectation is going to be for Jared Sittem in the final two games, but I think you hit the nail right on the head, Brandon, that this was more of a financial move because I thought a few weeks ago, hey, this is clearly going to a divorce, but Russ will be back next year. And then you hear about the twenty twenty five guaranteed salary if he can't pass a physical in March. You know, I guess they just realized that this wasn't going to work. So you got to eat the money now and there's just nothing that you could do about it.

Yeah, I mean, that's exactly right. You know, you might as well rip the bandaid off, right? Don't play games here and be stuck with a contract that you don't want to be stuck with. And then, you know, you tripling down on a bad mistake. They've already done that once they traded for us.

They gave him all they gave away a lot of assets, a lot of draft picks players, and then they gave him a contract a couple months later before he even played a game. So you've already, you know, doubled down on a bad deal and you don't want to triple down on it. Make it worse.

So they're ripping the bandaid off. I don't think Jared Sittem's the answer. I don't think that they think that he is. Now, I will say this. Now, he was Sean Payton went out early and free agency and over your deal with Jared Sittem. Yeah, and over, let me overpay for him. I mean, you look at the other contracts that were that were being signed by quarterback.

He overpaid for Jared Sittem, went off there early and got him. I don't think he's the answer. I don't know what they're going to do. You know, is it a trade for Justin Fields? Is it going to be something like that? They don't have a high draft pick, so they're a little bit of, you know, they're not in a great position looking for that next quarterback.

So they got to be creative. They got to find the guy and maybe it's a trade. Maybe it's, you know, the draft. We'll see what happens.

But obviously, it's not a good situation. You're going to be paying the price for that awful Russell Wilson deal for a couple more years. So Sean wins this one. Now, all the attention will go towards him. How hot is his seat entering next season? Just wondering.

No, I don't think it's hot at all. You know, I looked. I mean, he's coming here. I mean, they were they were seven and seven football team. It hadn't gone good the last couple weeks. But man, they have this football team is so overachieved. I mean, it's not a very talented team, honestly. Now, they've been fortunate. Offensive line's been healthy the whole year. They've been fortunate with some injuries that they seem like they had a lot the last few years. This year, they haven't really had hardly any at all.

And so that certainly helped. But it's, you know, I think Sean has done a really good job with this roster. Now, the key is, you know, I don't know if the general manager is going to be back or not. But what does it look like moving forward with the personnel decisions? They've got to find a tight end. They've got to find a slot receiver. You know, we talk a lot about Russ and very critical Russ, but there is no tight end on this roster. They haven't had one in years. They haven't had a slot receiver in years. So it's like you drafted Jerry Judy 15th overall.

He's far underachieved. So the weapons around the quarterback position are non-existent. So whatever quarterback decision they decide to make, they're going to have to help that quarterback out a lot more than they helped Russ out. Now, the crazy part to me, too, going back to why he took this job. You know, when he was with Drew Brees in New Orleans, right, it was a rock star relationship.

They won a Super Bowl. And then he dealt with life without Drew Brees. And it's whether he wants to say it's a retirement or not, that's the reason why he walked away. And now it's like to go to Denver and this relationship to go south so quickly, I just once again go back to, why the heck outside of money did he take this job with Denver when you also talk about the weapons and all the lack of them? Whole lot of money, right? They paid him a lot of money. They gave him a lot of power. And I think they probably gave them assurances that if Russ didn't work out, that they would move on from Russ, that, you know, like ownership would write the big check and they would be able, they would definitely move on.

There would be no hesitation there. And then also Zach, like, hey, ego, man, we all have a little bit of ego. You don't think Sean looked at the situation and said, I'll fix Russ. I'll get him back to playing like he did three, four, five years ago. I saw with Hackett's a bad coach. And that's what he told us during training camp. And so I think his ego played a little part in it also. And he wanted to get back into coaching. There wasn't that many jobs and there wasn't that many owners that wanted to pay him, you know, 15, 16, 18, whatever. He's making a ton of money that we're going to pay him that much money and give him that much power.

So I think it all kind of connected. And that's why he chose Denver. Where do you think Russ goes next if you had to take your best educated guess?

Wow, that's a good one. I think it's hard to say right now. You know, it's a quarterback set carousel. You got to wait and see what it looks like in the off season.

I'll throw out to you, Brendan Stokely. I think if he was in Pittsburgh or Atlanta this year, and I'm not saying Russ is great. I think he's a competent quarterback.

I think he's serviceable, but he's the farthest thing from a great quarterback anymore. I think both those teams would be in the playoffs with Russell Wilson as their quarterback this year, Atlanta and Pittsburgh. I like that. I'd go Atlanta. I'd go Atlanta. You know, I don't know, you know, Pittsburgh, I don't follow them every week.

You probably follow them closely, more closely than I do. I don't know if they're going to go another year here with Pickett or not. So I think the Atlanta situation is probably the one that makes the most sense right now.

And so it's going to be interesting to see, though, what happens there with Russ. A few more quick hitters just going around that AFC West. Antonio Pierce, should he get that job full-time with the Raiders?

A hundred percent. You know, I can't stand the Raiders, but you got to tip your cap to them. After that, there to Minnesota, the last couple weeks, man, they have played hard. They played well. He's got them believing.

So, like, you know, I say yes. I mean, they might have made a bad call there a couple of years ago when they hired McDaniel. They didn't keep the special teams. And he could, he did a good job. So, yeah, I think he does get it. The Chargers, you think Bella checks on that sideline next year? No, I say no.

I don't. I think Bill wants too much money, possibly. So I say I say no in that situation, but I don't think he's back in New England.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens there. And then finally, when you look at Kansas City, they've been struggling. They could probably use you at wide receiver, even though you haven't played since 2013. They just don't have anyone that could catch the football. They just don't look like they're going to find a way to turn this around, even though they have the great Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid this season.

What an absolute disaster. You know, they pissed me off so bad this past week. I actually picked them. I was alive and two survivor pools and I still had Kansas City. I still had Kansas City. I knew they were a fraud.

That's why I waited so long to pick them and they screwed me. I'm so pissed off at Kansas City. How do you lose at home to the Raiders?

I just can't even fathom that. Yeah, they're toast. They're done this year. They're an absolute disaster mess.

Kelsey doesn't look the same. They don't have any weapons around him to help him out. Mahomes is trying too hard.

It's a complete disaster there. Now watch them go on and go to the Super Bowl and make my take look even more embarrassing. That's where I'm at with the Chiefs, Zach.

Sorry. Last thing I'll ask you, Brandon. Just going back to Russ. If you had to get a pulse of the Denver fan today, are they fine with this move or are they starting to question Sean Payton as a head coach? No, they're fine with it.

That's just my overall thought. They're ready to move on from Russ. They've scored from last year. It's better this year, but they know that this thing isn't sustainable. It's just time to look for that next quarterback and turn the page on the Russell Wilson era.

I think the majority of Broncos' country is fine with it. Brandon Stokely, sorry about your survivor pool. We appreciate you joining us here on CBS Sports Radio. Appreciate it, buddy.

Thanks a lot. There you go. Brandon Stokely joining us on the show. For a second there, it's rare where you have a former NFL player sound like a Sports Talk radio caller, but I thought we just had a caller jump into the conversation when he's ranting and raving about his survivor pool going down last week. But that just shows, even though he was a really good NFL player and won two Super Bowls and made a lot of big catches, at the end of the day, once your playing days are over, you're one of us, Brandon. You are just one of us. Zach Gelb shows CBS Sports Radio. We'll take a timeout.

Come on back after these short messages. Let's face it, most people aren't making massive turkey feasts on the regular. And after 364 days of not thinking about it, it can be hard to get that bird just right. That's where Instacart, the holiday rescue app, comes in. From getting all the ingredients to prep a full seasonal spread to getting last minute swaps in a turkey emergency, Instacart has everything a holiday host needs to save face and save dinner. And right now, if you download Instacart, you'll get free delivery on your first three orders and delivery in as fast as one hour. Offer valid for a limited time, $10 minimum per order, additional term supply.