Russell Wilson’s future is uncertain, but what is clear is that his time with the Denver Broncos came to an unceremonious end. With rumors flying that Kirk Cousins might price himself out of Minnesota, a loaded 2024 NFL Draft quarterback class, and Wilson seeking a new team, this could be one of the wackiest NFL offseasons of all-time.
Wilson began his career with the Seattle Seahawks, arriving about a handful of years after the heyday of 2005 league MVP Shaun Alexander. The three-time Pro Bowl running back — there was a time when Pro Bowls actually meant something — is still presumably plugged in to the NFL despite not holding a media job or anything like that.
Anyway, I doubt Alexander would throw sh*t around without any basis in reality, so him telling Kay Adams that he’s heard Mr. Unlimited could be headed to Atlanta is not insignificant:
New Falcons coach Raheem Morris overlapped with Wilson for only one season in the NFC West when he served as Rams defensive coordinator. However, he’s been in the NFC since 2007, so he’s seen Wilson’s entire career unfold. Atlanta is picking eighth overall in the draft, which may be too far back to move up for one of the consensus top-three QBs in Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels. Bringing in a veteran like Wilson and drafting someone later is a viable strategy.
The NFC South isn’t a great division, so if Morris can keep the Falcons’ defense flying around and have a decent distributor at quarterback who can get the ball to Atlanta’s myriad playmakers, they have a real chance to challenge for the NFC South crown. Can’t say for sure that new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson would be fired up to call plays for DangeRuss. If it’s only for a brief time, perhaps.
Not many viable destinations exist to where Wilson could expect a realistic, multi-year window as a starter outside of Atlanta. Maybe the Steelers: Mike Tomlin publicly announced they’d bring in competition for Kenny Pickett. If I were Russ, trying to revitalize my career in my age-36 season, I’d rather not stay in the AFC, much less face the Bengals, Browns, and Ravens in the AFC North for six games out of a prospective 17.
Other than staying in the AFC West with the Raiders — again, not appealing in the slightest, especially now that Jim Harbaugh is with the Chargers — you can see what I mean. Not many viable landing spots for Russ where he has a clear path to starting. Tough out there.
For the remaining few Russ diehards out there, probably not a good time to bring this up: It just so happens to be the anniversary of his infamous Super Bowl interception on the 1-yard line.
At least Super Bowl LVIII will feature one slam-dunk amazing commercial from Paramount+. Do yourself a favor and check it out to cheer up if you’re feeling down.
Side note to tie all this together: It’s wild to think that Russ, Pete Carroll and that incarnation of the Seahawks never returned to the Big Game after that fateful play. The Legion of Boom secondary, with Russ in his prime, should’ve had at least one more crack at the Lombardi Trophy. It didn’t come to pass. They haven’t even gotten past the Divisional Round in the ensuing years.
Goes to show you that you can’t take for granted when your team goes deep in the playoffs. If the NFL is “rigged” for anything, it’s to encourage parity. That makes what the Chiefs are doing right now — four Super Bowl appearances in five years, with the chance to win three — and what the Brady-Belichick Patriots did so mind-blowing.
Now we’ve gotten to the point where Russell Wilson has declined, will play for his third different head coach/offensive system in as many years, and Seattle is ringing in a new era with Mike Macdonald as their new head coach.
Life comes at you fast in the NFL. Not For Long, indeed..
