At one point in his career, quarterback Russell Wilson looked to be a first-ballot, no-brainer Hall of Famer. Now, it’s much more complicated.
Since leaving Seattle after the 2021 season and nine of 10 Pro Bowl years (including five in a row), things have been rough for Wilson. Denver’s performance in 2022 was blamed largely on coaching. Denver’s performance in 2023 was blamed largely on Wilson, to the point at which he was benched late in the season, in the hopes of avoiding an injury that would have put the Broncos on the hook financially through 2025.
Last year in Pittsburgh was good not great, but not nearly good enough for the Steelers to bring him back for 2025. The Giants were the only team to show serious interest — and he ultimately held the job for only three weeks.
On Thursday night, former Seahawks teammate Richard Sherman used his Prime Video platform to agree with colleague Tony Gonzalez that Wilson has harmed his case for Canton.
“I think you got to judge his career off when the Legion of Boom was there,” Sherman said, via Michael Dixon of AwfulAnnouncing.com. “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.”
Sherman is right about one thing. The “Let Russ Cook” narrative came from a belief, we believe, that Wilson could be as dominant as Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen if the offense were constructed around Wilson’s skills. By the time, however, he got his wish, those skills began to diminish.
Sherman is wrong, however, about the connection between the Legion of Boom and Wilson’s bust. Wilson still played well after the Seattle defense became far less dominant.
Again, nine Pro Bowls in 10 seasons. And while much is made about the fact that Wilson never received a single MVP vote, his best years came when the voters cast one and only one ballot for the award.
During the latter years of Eli Manning’s career, Charean Williams (a long-time Hall of Fame voter) raised the fair question of whether Manning was jeopardizing his case for enshrinement by tacking bad years onto his good ones. So, yes, voters look at the full body of work.
For Wilson, the last four years have undermined his first 10. Once upon a time, he won a Super Bowl and (but for an interception he threw with the game on the line), nearly another. But Wilson’s time with Denver, Pittsburgh, and the Giants are now part of the overall resume.
We’ll find out whether Russ gets a bronze bust five years after he retires. And retirement could be looming, unless he’s able to find another starting job in 2026 — or unless he’s willing to be a backup.
Cincinnati will be without tight end Noah Fant and defensive end Shemar Stewart on Monday night in Denver.
The Bengals’ injury report lists Fant and Stewart as out for the game against the Broncos. They won’t make the trip to Denver.
This will be the second straight game Stewart, the Bengals’ first-round draft pick, has missed with an ankle injury.
Fant suffered a concussion last week and has not cleared the concussion protocol.
The Broncos looked to be at full strength as a Week 4 Monday night visit from the Bengals approaches. On Saturday, a new name was added to the injury report.
Receiver/kick returner Marvin Mims Jr. was limited in practice with a hip injury. He’s officially questionable for the game.
Mims wasn’t on the Thursday or Friday report, which suggests that the injury happened either at the end of practice on Friday or at some point on Saturday. All other players on the injury report — tight end Nate Adkins (foot), outside linebacker Nik Bonitto (wrist), tight end Evan Engram (back), defensive end John Franklin-Myers (hip), and inside linebacker Alex Singleton (thumb) — fully practiced on Saturday. They have no injury designation for Week 4, which means they’re good to go.
Engram missed the Week 3 loss to the Chargers due to the back injury.
Through three weeks, Mims has six catches for 40 yards. He also has returned six punts for 103 yards, and nine kickoffs for 248 yards.
If Mims can’t play, or if he is limited, receiver Troy Franklin likely will get more opportunities in the Denver offense. Riley Moss is the No. 2 punt returner, and Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Badie as the team’s other kickoff returners.
The NFL Players Association announced that Broncos wide receiver Trent Sherfield is their Community MVP for Week 4.
Sherfield and his family joined WeeCycle, Colorado’s largest diaper bank, for a recent event. They helped distribute diapers, wipes, baby food, and formula to those in need. Sherfield also founded the Diamond in the Rough Foundation in his hometown of Danville, Illinois and raised nearly $95,000 toward the creation of a sports and performance center in the city.
“My heart is to make sure the next generation has the resources and opportunities I didn’t have growing up,” Sherfield said in a statement. “This recognition is a reminder to keep pushing forward and continue that mission.”
The NFLPA will donate $10,000 to Sherfield’s foundation and he will join the other weekly recipients in being eligible for the Alan Page Award at the end of the year.
The Broncos’ 1-2 start has led to some criticism of quarterback Bo Nix and a few missed downfield connections in last Sunday’s 23-20 loss to the Chargers were fodder for those who think Nix has not progressed in his second season.
Those misses contributed seven three-and-outs over the course of the game, including two in the fourth quarter that helped the Chargers score the final 10 points of their victory. That might be reason for some coaches to say that quarterbacks have to prioritize easier completions, but Broncos head coach Sean Payton has a different view.
Nix also hit on a 52-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Courtland Sutton and the rewards of plays like that are enough for Payton to give a simple command to the quarterback before their Week 4 Monday night matchup with the Bengals.
“Just keep firing. He’s gonna hit plenty of those,” Payton said, via 104.3 The Fan.
Nix said he loves hearing that from Payton because “you don’t want to be afraid of failure” when it comes to trying for big plays. He’ll need to connect on a few more of them for the Broncos to go where they want to go this season, but that can’t happen without taking shots and it seems the Broncos plan to continue doing just that.
