Russell Wilson finds himself at a crossroads.

The former superstar quarterback has seen his physical abilities slip greatly, possibly due to multiple injuries sustained the last two seasons. He’s become one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL this year; can he regain his previous, profound play?

This year, his lackluster play has left him the target of attacks by national media members and organizations plus, more recently, fans in Broncos Country who want him cut after this season. (Which won’t happen due to his insane contract.)

And now there are questions around whether or not he’s lost the locker room. Well, maybe not just now. We’ve been seeing some possible division multiple times on the sideline, with Mike Purcell’s interaction being top of mind.

Rewind to mid-October, during the Broncos’ overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, to see Jerry Jeudy venting a lot of frustration to Melvin Gordon.

We don’t know for sure that Jeudy was upset with Wilson’s play in particular, or if it was just general frustration with the offense and the game. However, he was targeted seven times, with three receptions. Wilson’s accuracy in that contest was a mere 53.6%, and accuracy has been a huge issue for the QB all year long in Denver.

When asked specifically about Jeudy and Gordon’s exchange, Wilson responded this way: “It’s a good thing. You look for that. I’ve never seen a quiet championship team.”

Jeudy has gone through a tough start to his career, marred with injuries and playing with so-so at best quarterbacks. And now Wilson is playing as mediocre as Teddy Bridgewater, too, so his frustration makes sense.

Similarly, Courtland Sutton has looked annoyed by some passes this year, and KJ Hamler let his frustrations out notably earlier this year.

https://twitter.com/MLozada/status/1578237337972006917?s=20&t=LaqN38l1Dz4xwccmgGQ8Ng

It should be noted Hamler visibly made up after the win in London.

But before that game, on the plane ride to London, much was made about Wilson doing high-knees up and down the aisle of the team plane. Former players who are now in the media chimed in about how they’d be annoyed if they were his teammate.

Shannon Sharpe was one:

“I don’t think the guys thought Russ was ever one of them, and it’s showing,” the Broncos legendary tight end said.

Last week, defensive lineman Mike Purcell got in Wilson’s face as he ran off the sideline.

After the game, Purcell explained the interaction. “We want a spark on something. We’re all in this together, period,” Purcell said. “That’s the quarterback of our offense. They were about to take the field.”

“He just said, ‘We got to effing go’, you know?” Wilson said.

And then the last bit of “news” was half of the Denver Broncos team attending Wilson’s birthday party, thrown by Ciara this week. Honestly, getting 25-30 players together seems more like a win for the QB than a loss in terms of the locker room.

Still, Tom Pelissero said he’s heard Wilson has lost some people in the locker room.

“One of the things that I’ve consistently heard about it is Nathaniel Hackett, for everything that has gone wrong, and everything that people are saying about his job right now, he has not lost that locker room,” Pelissero said on “The Insiders”, an NFL Network show, on Tuesday. [Russell Wilson] has lost some people around that team. He has lost some people in that locker room.”

After the birthday party, 9News’ Mike Klis quoted Latavius Murray saying, “Yeah I went there and it was a great time. A great turnout. It was a good opportunity for us to break bread outside of the building. Guys come together to celebrate him, celebrate his birthday and come together as a team.”

And offensive lineman Dalton Risner said people are “just making stuff up about him.”

So, what does it all boil down to?

No matter the organization — in any industry — the leader will always have a target on their back. He makes more money than any player and has a larger-than-life personality. And he’s the quarterback, so the default face of the franchise.

What Wilson has to do is simply play better football.

Much better.

That’s easier said than done considering how far he’s fallen. Wilson not only is inaccurate this year — he’s 23rd in on-target percentage, 31st in completion percentage (58.9) — but he’s been holding the ball too long, too. That’s not only getting him hit more, but Wilson is playing scared lately, too, taking his eyes off of players and running aimlessly in the backfield.

The task is tall not only for Wilson, but for GM George Paton, who will likely need to hire a new head coach to take over for Nathaniel Hackett if (when?) he’s let go by the team.

That head coach needs to either 1. Be an offensive guy and create an offense tailored to Wilson’s play, or 2. Hire a play-caller to do just that, wether he’s an offensive or defensive coach.

Wilson, then, must not only create a rapport with the new coach, but his teammates as well.

It will all come down to his play on the field in 2023, though, which is possibly a make-or-break season for him in the Mile High City. Denver could possibly cut him in early 2024 with a huge dead cap hit, but his massive contract does complicate things.

The simplest solution for Paton, Wilson and the Denver Broncos is that Wilson plays well and plays out his contract. But can he bounce all the way back?

That’s the $250 million question in Denver right now.