Is Russell Wilson’s status as an eventual Hall of Fame quarterback less certain now than it was when he left the Seattle Seahawks after the 2021 season? According to Tony Gonzalez and Wilson’s former teammate in Seattle, Richard Sherman, the answer is yes.
After starting the season 0-3 with Wilson under center, New York Giants coach Brian Daboll named rookie Jaxson Dart the starting quarterback, sending Wilson to the bench. During the pregame show for Week 4’s Thursday Night Football game between the Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals, Charissa Thompson asked Gonzalez, “Do you think we’ve seen the last of Russell Wilson?”
“Honestly, I hope we have. And I say that because just looking at him and his career, his legacy, like you talked about, if ever there was somebody who played himself out of a Hall of Fame, it’s Russell Wilson,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez backed his opinion by noting the struggles that Wilson has had with the Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers, and now the Giants.
“And I say that because look at what’s happened ever since he left Seattle,” Gonzalez said. “When he was in Seattle, he was the man. He was making these good plays. He won a Super Bowl. Went to two of them. But as soon as he left there, he went to Denver, signed that big old deal. They paid him $39 million to leave. He goes to Pittsburgh, plays there one year, he’s out of there now. He goes here and has three games. I just don’t know if it’s going to get any better, and I don’t want to see him on a sideline holding a clipboard.”
When Thompson asked Gonzalez if the more recent struggles outweigh Wilson’s earlier success, Gonzalez replied, “Absolutely,” and asked, “How is it going to get better?”
As has been the case in the past, Sherman was quite willing to criticize his former teammate. He noted the success that Wilson was part of with the Seahawks but largely attributed that to the defense, anchored by the famed Legion of Boom secondary.
“Yeah, I agree,” Sherman said. “I agree. I think you got to judge his career off when the Legion of Boom was there. You had a legendary defense, an all-time defense, and how much success he had, and then without that legendary defense, the success he had. Without that legendary defense, he’s been 4-11, 7-8, 0-3 to start with the Giants. He was a winning football player in Seattle and people said, ‘Hey, winningest football player,’ all this good stuff, all these accolades. And now you get to go on your own and you get to prove, ‘Hey, I’m this great quarterback. I’m this guy that’s gonna be dominant.’ And it just hasn’t worked out that way.”
To be fair to Sherman, while Wilson’s Super Bowl appearances with Seattle occurred during the Legion of Boom’s prime years, he did lead the Seahawks to successful seasons following the Legion of Boom’s dissolution. Neither Sherman nor Kam Chancellor played for the Seahawks after the 2017 season (Sherman went to the San Francisco 49ers while Chancellor retired), and after suffering a season-ending injury early in the 2018 season, Earl Thomas never played for Seattle again.
Despite that, the Seahawks made the playoffs every year from 2018 to 2020, going 33-15 in the process. Wilson’s numbers were also better during that three-year stretch (67% completion rate, 11,770 yards, 106 touchdowns, 25 interceptions, 107.2 passer rating) than they were from 2012-2014 (63.4% completion rate, 9,950 yards, 72 touchdowns, 26 interceptions, 98.6 passer rating) when the Seahawks went to two Super Bowls, winning one.
The downfall began in 2021, when Wilson missed three games due to injury and the Seahawks posted their first losing record in 10 years.
That said, the notion that Wilson may be playing his way out of the Hall of Fame is certainly fair. Even in his prime years, his numbers were never among the best in the league. Not only has Wilson never won an MVP, but he’s also never received a single MVP vote. So, his candidacy was far from a slam dunk before he left Seattle.
Given the struggles he’s had since, it’s fair to wonder if he’s done too much damage. And if he has, as Gonzalez asked, how is it going to get better?
https://awfulannouncing.com/nfl/russell-wilson-hall-of-fame-richard-sherman-tony-gonzalez.html