Wilson was one of the league’s most dangerous quarterbacks for his first decade in the NFL, winning the starting QB job for the Seahawks as a third-round rookie in 2012 and hardly looking back. In tandem with Seattle’s legendary “Legion of Boom” defense, Wilson turned Carroll’s squad into a perennial contender.
He won Super Bowl XLVIII in his second season, a 43-8 throttling of the Broncos to deliver Seattle its first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. Wilson would again reach the game’s grandest stage the following year, but his go-ahead throw was instead intercepted by the Patriots at the goal line with 20 seconds remaining to deny a repeat performance. The heartbreaking pick, made possible by the Seahawks forgoing trying to punch it in with running back Marshawn Lynch, marked the beginning of the end for the Legion of Boom, but Wilson terrorized opponents for several more years to come despite never advancing beyond the Divisional Round again.
Houdini in the pocket, impossible to sack on the first attempt during his prime, Wilson extended plays with the best of them. He overcame several years of spotty offensive line play to make the Pro Bowl in all but one season with the Seahawks. The QB led the NFL with 34 touchdowns in 2017 but matched or exceeded that total on three other occasions. He also started the first 149 games of his career consecutively.
The first year he missed time due to injury, 2021, proved to be his last with the Seahawks — and also marked his final campaign as a top-tier QB.
Seattle traded him in 2022 to the Broncos, who utilized Wilson’s services for two seasons before taking on a then-record $85 million in dead money to move on from him during the 2024 offseason. Wilson then spent a year with the Steelers and played last year for the Giants, going 0-3 before giving way to rookie Jaxson Dart.
With his decision to try out his broadcasting talents, his final NFL game could stand as a 22-9 Week 3 loss to the Chiefs, though his big hurrah was a 450-yard, three-touchdown performance the week prior in an ill-fated overtime game versus the Cowboys.
Of course, Wilson never specifically mentioned retirement in his video.
Should a team with a need under center come calling during the season, it’s not impossible his goodbye to football ends up as more of a “see you later.”
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