Stephen A. Smith condemns Russell Wilson after Broncos' defeat to Raiders - "The only good thing he brought was Ciara"

Russell Wilson's 2023 season got off to a bad start once again. The Denver Broncos quarterback started the first half against the Las Vegas Raiders playing at a high level, but struggled in the second half and once again lost a close game with a poor performance on offense.

The patience seems to be over with Wilson, who struggled even with Sean Payton now in charge. For Stephen A. Smith, there was no time to waste: he went hard after the quarterback during ESPN's First Take, saying that the only good thing he brought to Denver was his wife, famous singer Ciara:

The only thing good he brought to Denver was Ciara. He wanted to be the man officially. So he got that in Denver. And what happened when he first got it? They stunk up the joint - not only did he stink up the joint, but he had a coach, Nathaniel Hackett, as far as I'm concerned, who's lucky to have a job right now after that atrocity that he put forth in Denver last season. So, will you take into account the fact that Russell Wilson was a part of that, that Russell Wilson was living by his own rules of really feeling himself? There's a lot of making up to do, and making up for it ain't losing 17 to 16.

Russell Wilson's contract: How much is he earning?

The quarterback is in the middle of a five-year, $242.5 million contract with the Denver Broncos. He extended his deal after he was traded from the Seattle Seahawks.

Russell Wilson will earn the most money out of all Broncos players in 2023, with $28M in cash to be paid over the course of the year. His salary for next season is fully guaranteed at signing as well.

There's no way he's going to get away with poor performances with Sean Payton now at the helm. Given how much the Denver Broncos invested to build this partnership, they definitely need the coach and quarterback to make it work together. The start of the season with a home loss to the Raiders definitely needs to be cleaned up.