Sean Payton says he 'in no way, shape or form' was trying to diss Russell Wilson in Sunday comments

Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post on Oct 22, 2025

Published in Football

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DENVER — Sean Payton said he didn’t intend for his comments about the New York Giants’ quarterback situation after Sunday’s win to be taken as a slight to Russell Wilson.

The former Broncos quarterback, benched earlier this year by Giants coach Brian Daboll in favor of rookie Jaxson Dart, clearly didn’t see it that way.

He took to social media Tuesday and called Payton “classless,” adding, “but not surprised. … didn’t realize you’re still bounty hunting 15-plus years later through the media.” The second part, of course, is a reference to Payton being suspended for the entire 2012 season after the Bounty Gate scandal in New Orleans.

Payton said he only meant to talk about Dart’s impact since replacing Wilson in the starting lineup when he said, “They found a little spark with that quarterback. I was talking to (Giants owner) John Mara not too long ago, and I said, ‘We were hoping that change would’ve happened long after our game.’ ”

On Wednesday, Payton said, “In the euphoria and the way that game unfolded, that was strictly about Dart.

“That was in no way, shape or form anything that was directed at Russ. I might be able to see how he might perceive that, but coming off that win and watching how (Dart) played, yeah, that wasn’t any intention at all.”

Broncos prep without Greenlaw

Denver will be without inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw against the Cowboys on Sunday after his one-game suspension was upheld on appeal Tuesday.

Asked if he had thoughts about the suspension on Wednesday, Payton said, “Yeah, and they don’t really matter, right?”

“You focus on the things you can control and then you’re on to the next game.”

The Broncos thought Greenlaw’s actions in running after referee Brad Allen and pointing at yelling at him after Wil Lutz’s 39-yard walk-off field goal should have resulted in a fine rather than a suspension.

“We were clearly in his corner with the appeal,” Payton said. “What normally has been a fine ended up being different, but, again, we can’t control that.”

Denver healthy

The Broncos are healthy, all things considered, heading into Week 8.

Denver had just two players on its injury report for Wednesday’s practice.

— OLB Jonah Elliss (shoulder) returned to work in a limited capacity for the first time since injuring his shoulder against Philadelphia earlier this month. RT Mike McGlinchey, meanwhile, was a full participant after missing four snaps Sunday due to what the team called a foot/ankle injury.

— S Brandon Jones was not on the injury report, which is good news for him. Jones took a big hit from teammate Talanoa Hufanga late in Sunday’s game and landed hard on his back, then was attended to by trainers. He didn’t return to the game, and P.J. Locke played the final 10 snaps in his absence.

Ehlinger promoted

QB Sam Ehlinger is back on the Broncos’ 53-man roster. Denver had a spot open for the week due to Greenlaw’s suspension.

Ehlinger can pretty freely move back and forth between Denver’s active roster and practice squad at this point in the season. As a vested veteran, he’s not subject to waivers until after the NFL’s trade deadline. He’s also making his veteran minimum base salary regardless of how many weeks he spends on the practice squad compared to the active roster.

Denver had two practice squad spots open in place of Ehlinger and waived offensive lineman Karsen Barnhart and filled them by signing a pair of rookies who spent all of training camp with the team: Offensive lineman Marques Cox and wide receiver Kyrese Rowan.