Payton hints at Broncos moving on from Wilson at QB

Sean Payton isn’t providing anything definitive on Russell Wilson’s time in Denver but he did hint at the Broncos moving on from him when he suggested the team cannot afford to miss on “the next one” at quarterback.

Payton said the club should know by the end of next week what direction it will take at QB.

Asked if he embraced the idea of finding a solution at quarterback, Payton retorted, “Yeah, we better. In this league, which is very competitive in our division, it’s vital.”

The coach then talked of a fan encounter

“There’s a Broncos fan with a shirt on with like eight quarterbacks’ names crossed through them and he’s drinking the quarterback ‘KoolAid,’ ” Payton said. “Our job is to make sure this next one doesn’t have a line through it.”

That sounds as though Wilson’s time in Denver might be over, which seemed imminent since he was benched for Jarrett Stidham the last two weeks of the season.

OHTANI HOMERS

Shohei Ohtani needed just three exhibition at-bats to show what a $700 million man can do for the Dodgers.

The Japanese star hit a two-run homer in his first game wearing Dodger blue on Tuesday, working a full count in the fifth inning before an opposite-field shot off Dominic Leone that just cleared the left-field wall.

WRESTLING’S ANDERSON DIES

Ole Anderson, a professional wrestler whose no-nonsense style led him to become a founding member of the famed Four Horsemen, has died, the WWE said. He was 81. Anderson gained his reputation early in his career as a tag-team champ, paired with partners billed as relatives, including Arn Anderson. They gained notoriety as the tag team known as The Minnesota Wrecking Crew, the WWE said.

The pair later teamed up in the 1980s with Ric Flair and Tully Blanchard to form The Four Horsemen.