Russell Wilson’s Redemption or Final Ride? QB’s Legacy Hangs in the Balance
Russell Wilson still remembers the phone call that started it all on April 27, 2012.
The Seattle Seahawks had just signed Matt Flynn to a three-year contract with the expectation that he would stabilize their uncertain quarterback situation. But in the third round (with the No. 75 pick), the Seahawks changed the course of their franchise’s history when they took a chance on an undersized passer from Wisconsin.
“Pete (Carroll) called me when I got drafted and said, ‘Go ahead and do it,’” Wilson recalled last week. “I said, ‘Coach, I don’t know any other way.’”
Wilson was coming off an incredibly efficient season at Wisconsin, completing 72.8 percent of his passes for 3,175 yards and 33 touchdowns against just four interceptions. His dynamic mobility added a spark that propelled the Badgers to the Big Ten title and a second straight Rose Bowl appearance.
However, in a draft class that also featured Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, questions remained about Wilson. Could a 5-foot-11 QB really make it in the NFL? Many wondered if baseball would be a better path for the dual-threat, dual-sport athlete.
“When I was a rookie, I was a young African-American kid from Richmond, Virginia,” Wilson said. “Everyone said I was too small and couldn’t do it.”
Twelve years later — after nine Pro Bowl appearances, a Lombardi Trophy, a blockbuster trade and a messy breakup in Denver — Wilson got another career-changing phone call. This time it was Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward with a recruiting offer.
“It’s different than college because I didn’t have to worry about NIL,” Heyward joked.
In 2023, the Steelers’ talented and highly paid defense dragged a bloodless offense led by Kenny Pickett and coordinated by Matt Canada to the playoffs. The longtime defensive captain saw something in Wilson that gave him the confidence he could help the team win the Lombardi Trophy that eluded Heyward.
“Leadership,” Heyward said. “He’s won a Super Bowl and can bring that knowledge to the table, but he’s also hungry to win another one.”
From the moment he signed, Wilson was always the best chance to start Week 1, even though coach Mike Tomlin insisted throughout training camp and the preseason that this was a real competition with Justin Fields. On Wednesday, the coach put an end to all speculation when he announced Wilson as the starter for Week 1 in Atlanta.
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As Wilson embarks on the next chapter of his NFL journey, the doubt that once saw him fall in the draft has resurfaced — but in a different way after two turbulent seasons in Denver.
Shortly after Wilson was traded to the Broncos, he said he wanted to play 10 or 12 more seasons and win a few more Super Bowls. He saw the change of scenery as another chapter in a story he hopes ends in Canton.
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That experiment ended prematurely, however, after just two years and an 11-19 record. Wilson ended up watching the final two games from the bench after the Broncos waived him. Sean Payton, a respected offensive mind, and the Broncos opted to take on $85 million in dead money to part ways with the player once seen as the future of their franchise.
Wilson blames a partially torn lat muscle in his throwing shoulder for his poor 2022 season in Denver, when he posted career lows in completion percentage (60.5) and passer rating (84.4). But even when healthy, he has long relied heavily on creating plays outside of structure. With some of his mobility lost to age, he has recorded a league-high 100 sacks over the past two seasons (something that was already a problem in Pittsburgh).
Can Russell Wilson overcome the scars of his struggling tenure in Denver? (RJ Sangosti / MediaNews Group / The Denver Post via Getty Images)
Around the league, Wilson’s perception has quickly faded. Four years ago, he was a unanimous Tier 1 quarterback alongside Patrick Mahomes in Mike Sando’s annual poll of the 50 NFL coaches and executives, ahead of Aaron Rodgers. After his disastrous 2022 season, he’s dropped from Tier 2 (No. 8) to Level 3 (No. 16)Even after an improved 2023 season, Wilson slipped further in this year’s poll, to No. 22 and on the verge of Tier 4, which is reserved for unproven players or veterans “who ideally wouldn’t start 17 games.”
When asked who doubted him, Wilson responded with his characteristic, undiminished optimism.
“I think a lot of people have doubts, and that’s not something I’m not used to. I’ve been hearing it for a long time,” he said. “I’ve just never worried about what other people think. … God picked me for this, and he picked me to play this game. I’m one of 32 guys in the world who gets to do what I do. There’s 8 billion people in the world, and for whatever reason, I get to be one of those guys.”
But how long will he be one of those 32? This is a make-or-break season for Wilson that will shape not only the Steelers’ ceiling, but the QB’s legacy.
On the one hand, he brings a resume with Hall of Fame potential. He ranks fourth all-time in passer rating (100.0), 13th in passing touchdowns (334), 19th in passing yardage (43,653), 19th in completions (3,668), 20th in completion percentage (64.7) and 15th in wins (115). He still throws what assistant GM Andy Weidl described as a “majestic” deep ball and brings the elusive leadership qualities that Tomlin craves.
Russell Wilson does two things the Steelers likely appreciate: he protects the ball and he throws a great deep ball.
Since entering the league in 2012, Wilson has completed 35.4% of his passes traveling 30 or more yards in the air (8th best).
He lost 0.73 TO/gm, 8th best. photo.twitter.com/X0qjz5Ajgh
— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) March 11, 2024
“This is not a guy that was hungry, meaning he can be fed,” Tomlin said in March, shortly after the Steelers signed Wilson. “This is a guy that driven. You want to work with people who have that mindset.”
Steelers teammates say Wilson’s confidence and dedication — which some former teammates in Seattle and Denver have criticized as fake — have rubbed off positively in Pittsburgh.
“He’s got a lot of confidence in himself and he tries to give confidence to others,” receiver Calvin Austin III said. “That’s probably the biggest thing. Because first and foremost, you have to believe in yourself and that’s the message he’s sending to everyone around him, and you can see it definitely sticks with everyone.”
Despite all he achieved early in his career, nothing is certain for Wilson at this point.
He agreed to a one-year deal in Pittsburgh, suggesting that the league — which has a shortage of quality QBs — has not been enamored with his past two seasons. For the first time in his NFL career, he will enter a season without guaranteed money next year. The Steelers also traded for Fields after Wilson signed, making it fair to wonder if the team wanted an alternative in case things don’t go as planned.
Wilson, who has said he wants to play five to seven more seasons, has a chance in Pittsburgh to prove that his time in Denver was a blip on the radar, not Father Time knocking. If he can recapture some of the magic of his Seattle days — when he was surrounded by a talented defense and a reliable running game, as he is now with the Steelers — it could change the way the league views that two-year stint. Maybe it was the dysfunction around Wilson — and not the quarterback himself — that tarnished his time in Denver?
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Asked Wednesday if he feels like he has something to prove after two years with the Broncos, Wilson replied: “I feel that way every day. You’re trying to prove yourself, just who you are, how you approach it. … I’m not focused on anything old, anything to come. I’m just focused on the here and now.”
If Wilson does well in Pittsburgh, he’ll have free agent options next season and perhaps a chance to play the six more seasons he wants. Kirk Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed with the Falcons this spring, months before his 36th birthday and while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. Baker Mayfield got a three-year, $100 million contract with the Bucs after a resurgent season in Tampa.
But Wilson will have to prove it. The Steelers, who have long had a policy of not negotiating contracts during the season, aren’t sold enough to offer Wilson an extension before Week 1. They’ll let the season play out, Weidl said, before deciding whether to extend Wilson or Fields, who is also in the final year of his contract.
When Wilson was a rookie, he often said, “Experience is only necessary for those who are not qualified.” At 35, he has developed that mantra: “Age is only necessary for those who are not qualified.”
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“I feel the fountain of youth,” Wilson said in May. “I feel rejuvenated in every way — mentally, emotionally, spiritually. I feel confident. I think at some point you have to know who you are as a player, as a man, as a competitor, as someone who’s fortunate enough to play this game. I’m confident.
“Last year I felt really good when I played. I felt really confident, in the middle of everything. I think now I have all that confidence, times 10.”
But what if that trust doesn’t lead to results? Then this might be his last chance.
There’s no guarantee he’ll be the Steelers’ starting center for the entire season. Fields has been waiting in the wings, working extensively with the first-team offense while Wilson’s calf injury sidelined him through training camp and the preseason. The Steelers have invested so little in Wilson that they wouldn’t lose anything by making a move midseason.
If that happens, or if Wilson has a disappointing season, who else would want him as a starter? And would Wilson — who has earned an average of $30.3 million in annual earnings over the past 10 years — even consider the possibility of becoming a backup? Would he just call it a career, multiple seasons and a few Super Bowl rings away from his stated goals?
It’s impossible to know how this will play out. But in a world full of doubts, there’s one thing you can count on: This season, good or bad, will shape the backstretch and the ultimate picture of Wilson’s career.
“As far as legacy, the reason I came here is I want to win another Super Bowl or two, and that’s what we’ve got to do,” Wilson said. “That’s our plan. That’s our strategy. That’s our mission every single day. And I think that’s what really matters.”
(Top photos: Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
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