Payton eyes ‘next’ quarterback

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

Payton met with the media at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday and said the club should know by the end of next week what direction it will take at quarterback.

Asked if he embraced the idea of finding a solution at quarterback, one that’s eluded coaches and general managers ever since Peyton Manning retired eight years ago, Payton retorted, “Yeah, we better. In this league, which is very competitive in our division, it’s vital.”

Payton then relayed a funny meme that caught his attention recently.

“There’s a Broncos fan with a shirt on with like eight quarterbacks’ names crossed through them and he’s drinking the quarterback ‘Kool-Aid,’ ” 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, something that’s seemed imminent since he was benched for Jarrett Stidham the last two weeks of last season.

The Broncos have delved into the free-agent quarterbacks and will meet with the college prospects at the combine this week.

Wilson, who has won just 11 of 30 starts with the Broncos

since his trade from Seattle two years ago, said over the weekend that he hopes to return to Denver. Wilson said he still aims to win a pair of Super Bowls in the next five years.

“I want to go back to Denver. I hope I get to go back. I’d love to go back, to be honest with you. I’ve got amazing teammates,” Wilson said on former NFL receiver Brandon Marshall’s “I Am Athlete” podcast.

Wilson also repeated that the Broncos threatened to bench him if he didn’t adjust an injury guarantee in his contract, something the team has called a mischaracterization.

Wilson declined to remove the injury guarantee from the $245-million contract he’d signed about a year earlier and ended up starting seven more games before Payton benched him for the final two.

“I didn’t want to set a precedent for players to remove their injury guarantees,” Wilson told Marshall.

Chicago general manager Ryan Poles said the Bears want to “do right” by Justin Fields if they decide to draft another quarterback . ... Atlanta released tight end Jonnu Smith ina cost-cutting move.