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Tony Gonzalez says Russell Wilson 'played himself out of' Hall of Fame
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- Tony Gonzalez says Russell Wilson 'played himself out of' Hall of Fame
Russell Wilson is finished as a starting quarterback in the NFL … for the foreseeable future anyway. But in the event the newly relegated backup for the New York Giants has taken his final snap , is he a future Hall of Famer? It's hardly a rhetorical question.
Tony Gonzalez, whose 1,325 receptions are an NFL record for a tight end and helped make him the first man at his position elected as a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2019, and Richard Sherman , a former All-Pro cornerback who may well get a gold jacket himself one day, weighed in on the topic Thursday night before the Arizona Cardinals hosted the Seattle Seahawks . Gonzalez and Sherman both currently serve as NFL analysts for Prime Video.
Addressing whether he thinks the NFL has seen the last of Wilson, Gonzalez replied: "Honestly, I hope we have. … If ever there was somebody who played himself out of a Hall of Fame, it's Russell Wilson . And I say that because look at what's happened. Ever since he left Seattle – 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.
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"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 (to New York) and has three games. I just don't know if it's gonna get any better, and I don't want to see him on a sideline holding a clipboard.
"I just don't think he's done himself any favors since he left Seattle. And how's it gonna get better? I don't know."
Then Sherman, a teammate of Wilson's in Seattle for six seasons – including the dominant 2013 Seahawks squad that blew out Peyton Manning 's Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 48 – weighed in.
"I agree. I think you've got to judge his career off when the 'Legion of Boom' was there – he had a legendary defense, an all-time defense and how much success he had – and then without that legendary defense."
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Sherman, one of the "LOB" linchpins early in Wilson's career, then noted his former quarterback is 17-27 as a starter since the Seahawks traded him to Denver following the 2021 season. Wilson has lost his past eight starts, going back to the disastrous end of Pittsburgh's 2024 campaign – which ended with five straight defeats, including a blowout loss at Baltimore in the playoffs.
"He was a winning football player in Seattle," Sherman continued. "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."
Coincidentally, Sherman was on the broadcast from Arizona's State Farm Stadium, site of Super Bowl 49 – where Wilson infamously threw the controversial goal-line interception in the final seconds that cost the Seahawks what seemed like an almost surefire chance at beating the New England Patriots and capturing back-to-back Lombardi Trophies. Wilson's pass is still hotly debated, particularly since its detractors immediately questioned the team for not calling the number of dominant running back Marshawn "Beast Mode" Lynch, who'd already rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown against New England.
Sherman, memorably caught wincing by sideline cameras in the play's aftermath, couldn't bear to say Wilson's name when recalling the episode – one that turned out to be the beginning of the end of the Seahawks' would-be dynasty.
Sep 17, 2017; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman (25) and quarterback Russell Wilson (3) celebrate during the fourth quarter two minute warning timeout against the San Francisco 49ers at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
"It's tough, it's tough," said Sherman. "You feel like you've got the game won. We sacrificed – guys were beat up, guys were injured coming into that game. You just have to turn around and hand it off to Marshawn Lynch . We didn't. Quarterback threw an interception. Game."
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Seattle's defense, along with Lynch, supplied much of the team's personality, swagger and dominance in Wilson's early years, but was steadily eroded by injuries while Wilson became a more prominent component of the team's success. Yet while they continued to consistently win in the regular season, the Seahawks never returned to an NFC championship game under Wilson after Super Bowl 49.
Wilson, who was considered a game manager after earning the starting job as a rookie in 2012, eventually emerged as one of the great improvisers in NFL history – his game frequently compared to Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton. No play seemed dead when Wilson's athleticism was at its peak − whether he was extending them in jailbreak style with his legs or launching his patented deep ball, which often seemed more accurate for him than seemingly simple intermediate throws.
Yet while Wilson remains the greatest quarterback in Seahawks history by any metric, he did struggle to play within the structure of the offense at times and failed to execute the ball-control approach – especially after Lynch left the club – former head coach Pete Carroll favored. "Let Russ Cook" became a catch phrase in Seattle, fans wanting Carroll to allow Wilson to freelance routinely rather than when it became necessary late in games with Seattle trailing.
But Wilson hasn't cooked much since leaving the Emerald City, his propensity to hold the ball hoping big plays develop agitating Broncos coach Sean Payton in 2023 and also eventually leading to the breakdown of the Steelers offense last year.
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Despite two bad games – Sunday's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in particular – among this three starts with the Giants , Wilson doesn't sound like a player ready to call it a career.
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"I know I'm a winner," he said Wednesday, addressing reporters after his benching by the Giants became official.
"I know having the championship mentality. Winners don't pick and choose. Leaders don't pick and choose when they want to lead and when they want to help and communicate like a winner or whatever that may be. Those are the things that I know, and I can control. So that's what I'm focused on."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Russell Wilson a Hall of Famer? Tony Gonzalez, Richard Sherman say no
