3 offseason moves from AFC West rivals that Chiefs fans can laugh at

Broncos releasing Russell Wilson and having to pay $85 million in dead money

In the 2022 offseason, the Chiefs traded away Tyreek Hill and the rest of the AFC West were licking their chops. This was finally their chance to dethrone the Chiefs in the division and the Broncos were going to swing for the fences and make sure they finally had their quarterback to lead them past Kansas City in the AFC West title race.

The Broncos traded for Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who, yes, was coming off his worst season as a pro, but nobody saw what was going to happen to him in Denver coming. Wilson threw for only 16 touchdowns and had 11 interceptions on the year and just looked... bad. Nathaniel Hackett was his head coach and didn't even make it through the year and that led the Broncos to trade for Sean Payton the following offseason.

Wilson looked much better under Payton's tutelage than he did under Hackett's but Payton and the Broncos coaching staff opted to sit Wilson for the final two games of the 2023 season despite the Broncos still being alive in the AFC West race. Before free agency kicked off, Denver opted to release Wilson, meaning they're on the hook for $85 million over the next two years.

People had continuously said that the Broncos were a quarterback away before acquiring Wilson and when they landed him, they had already been crowned the offseason champs in 2022. Meanwhile, the Chiefs went on to win their seventh straight division title and also went on to beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl to win their third championship.

The Broncos might have ended their losing streak to the Chiefs this past year with Wilson at the helm but the Chiefs still went on to win the division (their eighth straight division title) and won the Super Bowl over the San Francisco 49ers in overtime.