Russell Wilson Is the Only One Who Can Save His Hall of Fame Legacy

Russell Wilson’s legacy is in danger and it’s his own fault. He could be coasting into the final phase of a Hall of Fame career. Instead, Wilson forced a change and has yet to find a true home. Now he’s in Pittsburgh and there’s a real chance he won’t win the job. If that happens, Wilson will once again be adrift in the quarterback desert, risking damage to his reputation at every stop.

Wilson’s divorce from the Seahawks may have felt inevitable. But the nine-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl XLVIII champion did a lot to speed up the process. If he fully supported management, Wilson would have at least had a shot to end his career in Seattle. He didn’t want that. He saw himself as the kind of quarterback who could carry any team to the Super Bowl. It was a miscalculation that he’s paying the price for right now as he deals with a potentially tumultuous situation in Pittsburgh.

Going back to 2021, Wilson was in the building watching Tom Brady — in his second season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — carve up the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. He wondered why that couldn’t be him. The following week, Wilson went on the Dan Patrick Show and asked for more influence on the roster.

“At the end of the day, it’s your legacy, your team’s legacy,” Wilson told Patrick. “One of the reasons why Tom went to Tampa was because he felt like he could trust those guys and [Bucs head coach] Bruce [Arians] would give him an opportunity. … You think about LeBron. He was able to be around great players he could trust. ... Any time you bring free agents in, you want the best players, ones who love the game.”

Wilson saw himself on the same level with Brady and LeBron. He probably thought the next stage of his career could resemble their final acts. The problem is that no one can do what Brady did and what LeBron is doing. They set an impossible standard; trying to match them results in unrealistic expectations.

Not long after the Patrick interview, Wilson’s agent listed four teams he’d waive his no-trade clause to join. The Seahawks tried to appease Wilson but both sides had gone too far convincing themselves they’d be better off going in a different direction. They kept him for one more season before trading him to the Broncos – a move the front office claimed was to satisfy Wilson.

We’ll never know what would have happened had Wilson stayed longer in Seattle. Maybe his production slips anyway. Or he would have gelled with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, a coach he helped bring to Seattle. Regardless of how Wilson performed, the risk was lower in the Pacific Northwest. If he didn’t put up big passing numbers, everyone would blame head coach Pete Carroll for being conservative.

When Wilson joined Denver, he was opening himself to be judged in a new way. The Broncos had weapons and an offensive-minded head coach in Nathaniel Hackett. This was the kind of situation that Wilson wanted. It turned out to be a high-profile disaster. Wilson went 4-11 as a starter and had a career-low 84.4 passer rating. Luckily, he had a major excuse. As poorly as Wilson played, Hackett was even worse as a head coach. From Day 1, Hackett was overmatched. There was at least a chance Wilson would be better with a new coach.

When the Broncos hired Sean Payton last season, the bar got even higher for Wilson. Now he was being compared directly to Payton’s former quarterback, Drew Brees. His numbers were adequate thanks to Payton’s safe short-passing scheme — 3,070 passing yards, 26 TDs, eight INTs and a 66.4 completion percentage. But it never looked right and Payton benched him after a Week 16 loss to New England. An embarrassing ending to a forgettable 8-9 season.

At first, Wilson’s next team, Pittsburgh, seemed like the perfect landing spot. In some ways, the Steelers are similar to the Legion of Boom Seahawks: Hall of Fame-level coach, the ability to win with defense and a true No. 1 receiver in George Pickens. With Denver still on the hook to pay him $38 million for this season, Wilson could afford to sign a one-year veteran’s minimum salary of $1.21 million with the Steelers. Wilson appeared to be a team player with his new deal. But with so little invested in Wilson, Pittsburgh felt comfortable trading a conditional fourth- to sixth-round pick to Chicago for Justin Fields. Wilson’s best intentions made him vulnerable to a quarterback competition

Tomlin endorsed Wilson as the starter in the spring. In training camp, however, Wilson has been sidelined with a minor calf injury. He’s expected to be practicing fully soon, but Fields has reportedly made the most of his opportunity with the first team and now poses a real threat to win the job.

Wilson was one of the great underdog stories in the NFL. He got benched for Mike Glennon at N.C. State and transferred to Wisconsin. He fell to the third round in the 2012 draft, presumably because of his height (5-11). Even when he was winning, it felt like he was operating with one hand behind his back because the Seahawks didn’t want to open up the offense.

In two years, Wilson’s fairy tale career has taken an unexpected turn. Instead of proving his ability to put up big numbers like a Brady or Mahomes, he’s reinforced an old storyline – that the Seahawks won a Super Bowl in Seattle because of the defense and not quarterback play.

Wilson is at the goal line of reaching the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Typically, quarterbacks with his credentials are in good shape. To sabotage his candidacy now would be like throwing an interception at the goal line with the Super Bowl in the balance. It’s happened before.

Wilson’s final years are starting to feel a little like a Shakespearean tragedy. His hubris caused him to misread his own value in Seattle. Now the Hamlet of the AFC North will try to hold off the young quarterback and regain his former glory in a defining season.

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