Steelers QB Russell Wilson Has Chance To Break This Notable NFL Record This Year

Nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson heads into Year 1 of his tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers with a shot at history, though it’s not the kind of history he likely wants to be remembered for.

Wilson is just 43 sacks away from tying Fran Tarkenton as the most-sacked quarterback in NFL history.

The 35-year-old has been sacked 43 or more times in eight of his 12 NFL seasons, including six of his last seven seasons, and years he’s started 15 or more games, he’s been sacked at least 40 times in all of them but one.

The good news for Wilson is the Steelers offensive line hasn’t surrendered more than 40 sacks since 2013. The bad news for him is his style of play is conducive to letting defenses produce a high volume of sacks.

Wilson held onto the ball an average of 2.99 seconds last season, the second-longest of qualifying QBs behind only his new teammate Justin Fields (3.12 seconds).

He also doesn’t perform well under pressure with all 45 of his sacks taken last year in Denver coming when he was pressured, 35 of which were on plays that didn’t involve play action, according to Pro Football Focus.

Related: ESPN Analyst: Steelers Wouldn’t Have Signed Russell Wilson if They’d Known This

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