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.
