ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — After Russell Wilson took a vicious blindside hit in the head from Packers linebacker Clay Matthews in the 2014 NFC Championship Game, the quarterback didn’t miss a snap and later denied suffering a concussion on the play.

In 2017, Wilson absorbed a hit on the chin during a game against the Cardinals. He missed one play before returning to the field, and the Seahawks were later fined $100,000 for a “failure in the application” of the league’s version of the concussion protocol at the time, which mandated that Wilson be checked for a head injury before taking another snap.

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On Sunday, after suffering a concussion at the end of a fourth-quarter run against the Chiefs, Wilson appeared to attempt to walk back to the offensive huddle before trainers helped him off the field, took him to the blue medical tent on the sideline and then led him to the locker room, where he was later ruled out for the game.

Add to that context the fact that Wilson never missed a game during his first nine NFL seasons, returned earlier than predicted following a finger surgery in 2021 and pushed hard to play with a hamstring injury in Week 7 this season before ultimately being held out, and it becomes reasonable to assume Wilson will passionately campaign to start against the Cardinals on Sunday if he clears the league’s concussion protocol.

“Of course, that’s what you love about Russell,” Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett said Wednesday when asked what will go into determining Wilson’s status this week. “But for us, it starts with the medical team. It’s day by day right now. Then, we’ll all discuss and do what’s best for Russell, first and foremost, and then the organization. … We’ll talk with him and it’ll be an organizational decision.”

The decision, beginning at the very top with co-owner and CEO Greg Penner, should hinge on one question: What is to be gained by Wilson, seven days removed from what one teammate described as a “scary” head injury, playing Sunday for the 3-10 Broncos against the also-ran Cardinals?

The protocol is just one piece of the equation this week. Hackett indicated there would be a decision to be made even beyond the league’s official return-to-play process. It is hard to imagine the brain trust could conclude that any rewards of starting Wilson — More fan interest in the game? Better chance to break a five-game losing streak? Building some elusive momentum on offense? — outweigh the risk of a second head injury for their franchise quarterback in two games.

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“His safety is what matters to us,” Hackett said. “We want to make sure we’re taking care of him and his well-being and that we’re doing what’s right for Russell.”

If brief scenes viewed by the media Wednesday are any indication, the 34-year-old Wilson is progressing toward clearance from the league’s protocol. He was in his normal front-row spot in the stretch line as the Broncos began their work inside the team’s indoor practice facility, ran briskly to the outdoor field after the stretch and then went through individual work with the team’s other quarterbacks, including light throwing and agility drills. Though teams don’t make announcements about the various stages of the protocol as a player clears them, Wilson’s work viewed by the media suggested he’s progressed through multiple benchmarks since the week began.

There should be no begrudging Wilson for wanting to suit up against the Cardinals. He is coming off arguably his best game of the season in Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs, when he tallied 304 total yards and threw three touchdown passes in a little more than three quarters of work before exiting. He has completed 67 percent of his passes over the past four games and posted a passer rating of 93 — compared with marks of 57.4 and 81.4, respectively, in the eight starts prior — and he is eager to build on that growth during the final month of the season. He desperately wants to be part of the solution for an offense that finally showed signs of life Sunday.

Assuming Wilson clears the protocol, telling him he won’t get that chance against the Cardinals would be a difficult conversation, especially since the Broncos already let the protocol guide their decision-making process earlier this season when defensive D.J. Jones played against the Raiders in Week 4, seven days after suffering a concussion in a win against the 49ers. But not all cases are created equal. The organization’s investment in Wilson, who signed a five-year, $245 million extension in September, is significant. The best hope Denver has of turning things around in 2023 hinges on Wilson being available during an offseason that will be pivotal in building a more cogent offensive plan, be it with Hackett or a new coaching staff. The Broncos on Wednesday announced an upcoming $100 million in upgrades to Empower Field at Mile High Stadium, and they need a healthy Wilson to help cut the ribbon next fall.

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The league’s concussion protocol does not make judgments about the kind of situation to which a player would be returning; if a player clears the five phases and then gets medical clearance, he is eligible to play. But the Broncos must also consider that their offensive line has been decimated by injuries and has played sporadically at best. Including six takedowns against the Chiefs that preceded his injury on a scramble, Wilson has already been sacked 43 this season, putting him firmly on pace to top his previous high of 51 in 2018. Significant injuries at wide receiver only enhance the potential pitfalls for the offense and the protection problems that can ensue.

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The defending champion Rams have been dealing with a similar situation with starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, who suffered a concussion during a loss to the Saints on Nov. 20. Stafford, who is also dealing with a neck injury, did not clear protocol during either of the two game weeks that followed. Even after he cleared protocol in early December, Stafford was held out of the two games that have followed and is not expected to play in Monday night’s game against the Packers. It appears the Rams, their Super Bowl defense having long gone off the rails, are content to let Stafford sit the rest of the season, get right in the months to follow and return healthy in 2023.

There is an inherent danger that comes with every snap in the NFL. Every player knows the potential for injuries, significant and otherwise, is part of the deal. Even if Wilson hadn’t suffered a concussion and hadn’t been sacked 43 times this season, he’d still be putting himself in harm’s way by playing a football game Sunday. That’s simply the sport. But context matters, and Denver’s dreary spot in the standings near the end of a lost season demands some thorough risk assessment when it comes to the franchise quarterback.

(Top photo: Dustin Bradford / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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