When the Denver Broncos formally introduced Russell Wilson as their starting quarterback in March 2022, many around the NFL viewed his résumé as Hall of Fame caliber, according to ESPN. Wilson spent 10 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, leading the team to eight playoff appearances and two Super Bowls, including a Super Bowl XLVIII victory over the Broncos to finish the 2013 season.
Wilson compiled significant individual credentials in Seattle, according to ESPN. He was selected to the Pro Bowl nine times and posted four consecutive seasons of 30-plus touchdown passes from 2017-20, leading the league with 34 TDs in 2017 and producing a career-best 40 in 2020. In 2020 he threw for 4,212 yards and 40 touchdowns while adding 513 rushing yards. In 2014 he ran for 849 yards and 47 first downs. From 2012-21, his 292 touchdown passes were the second-most in a quarterback’s first 10 NFL seasons, behind Peyton Manning.
The Broncos sent a package that included two first-round picks to acquire Wilson and signed him to a franchise-record, five-year, $245 million contract, according to ESPN. At his introductory news conference, Wilson said his goal was to play “10 or 12 more years and hopefully win three or four more Super Bowls,” according to ESPN.
Wilson struggled after leaving Seattle, according to ESPN, with rough stretches in two seasons with Denver followed by stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants before retiring this offseason. He has signed on to be an analyst for CBS. The last four seasons of his career saw him frequently benched and his teams went 17-27 in games he started. From 2022-25 he was sacked 143 times in 47 games, including 100 sacks in 30 starts with the Broncos. Four of his five lowest yards-per-attempt marks came after he left Seattle, and his completion percentage over expectation was negative three times over his final five seasons, with a career-low minus-4.3% in 2022 in Denver.
That late-career slide has complicated Wilson’s Canton prospects, according to ESPN. Longtime selector Ron Borges said Wilson was a good quarterback for two-thirds of his career and added that “the Hall of Fame is not the Hall of Very Good.” Wilson will not be eligible for induction until the Class of 2031, according to ESPN.
