The New Orleans Saints were minding their own business when all of a sudden they got drug into a full blown verbal fight between Denver Broncos (and former Saints) head coach Sean Payton and New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson. Yes, it's as ridiculous as it sounds but let's recap for those who are just learning about this.
Going back in time, Payton and Wilson spent one year together in Denver. The Saints had traded Payton to Denver to coach the Broncos and Wilson was entering his second year as the Broncos quarterback. He had struggled mightily during his first year in Denver and, despite playing better in 2023 in Payton's first year with the team, the Broncos opted to take a massive cap hit and cut ties with Wilson than ride it out with him.
Now, let's get to the story at hand, which is this juicy drama between the two men. Payton spoke about the Broncos' wild win over the Giants from this past weekend and basically said that he was hoping his team would get to play Wilson and not rookie first-round pick Jaxson Dart. Wilson clearly did not respect the jab in his direction and fired back, dragging the Saints into the drama with him.
Classless… but not surprised….
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) October 21, 2025
Didn’t realize you’re still bounty hunting 15+ years later through the media. 😎😂 #LetsRide 🤣
Russell Wilson just pulled the Saints into his Sean Payton drama
Wilson went for the jugular here by bringing up Bountygate, which happened under Payton's watch during the late 2000s and early 2010s. Payton served a year-long suspension due to being the head coach for the Saints during the time Bountygate was happening.
Payton hasn't coached the Saints since 2021 but that didn't stop Wilson from bringing up Bountygate when slamming his former head coach. It felt a bit unnecessary to throw the Saints into this drama since they haven't done anything to Wilson (well, they did beat the Giants this year but Wilson wasn't the starter in that game).
Wilson might not have mentioned the Saints by name but this was still very much a shot at them. If he really wanted to take a swing at Payton, why not diss him for something ill-advised he did in Denver when the two worked together rather than drag another team into this? I guess he was truly trying to cut deep and throw what he perceived to be the ultimate insult Payton's way but throwing his cheesy "Let's Ride" catchphrase that he used in Denver sort of put a damper on that whole thing if you ask me.
The Saints might not be directly involved in this drama but fans are definitely going to be kicking back with some popcorn and watching it play out.