Denver Broncos star Russell Wilson "made it a point to slim down a little bit" ahead of the 2023 NFL season, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Fowler reported Sunday on SportsCenter the nine-time Pro Bowler has spent the last few months getting familiar with head coach Sean Payton's offense and improving his on-field rapport with his wide receivers. He's also broadly enthusiastic about the scheme:

"I talked to somebody close to the quarterback who said that he's really excited about the sequencing, the organization of Sean Payton's offense, where everything flows how it should. Talking to people about the Denver offense last year under Nathaniel Hackett, it was said they tried their best, but it was sort of like taking plays and throwing it against the wall and see what stuck. With this one, you know what you're getting with Payton. You're getting the play action, you're getting some easy completions, limiting turnovers, taking the shots while they're there."

Wilson is coming off the worst season of his NFL career. He threw for 3,524 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his first year with Denver.

Even though his five-year, $242.6 million extension hasn't fully gone into effect, there's still a sense the veteran signal-caller could be on shaky ground. If he's unable to rebound under Payton's tutelage, then perhaps cutting ties altogether becomes a plausible scenario for Denver to consider.

The short-term pain of releasing Wilson would be worth wiping the slate clean to rebuild.

Based on Fowler's report, the 34-year-old appears to understand what's potentially at stake for him in 2023.