RENTON, Wash. — His number will hang at Lumen Field for as long the Seahawks play there. He will be embraced by 12s whenever he steps foot in Seattle.
His odds of donning a gold jacket in Canton stand at 100%. But there will be a caveat when Russell Wilson's Seahawks legacy is discussed: He forced his way out in the prime of his career.
This isn't a common action among superstar quarterbacks. Tom Brady left the Patriots after 20 years of service and signed with the Bucs as a free agent. Peyton Manning had a career-threatening neck injury and bounced after the Colts drafted Andrew Luck. Drew Brees declined a lowball offer from the Chargers — who had drafted Philip Rivers the year before — then spent the rest of his career in New Orleans.
Brett Favre was dealt to the Jets make room for Aaron Rodgers. Joe Montana left for Kansas City after Steve Young established himself as the 49ers' QB of the future. John Elway spent his whole career in Denver, Terry Bradshaw his whole career in Pittsburgh, and, well, we can do this for a while.
Matthew Stafford asked for a trade from Detroit, but that team hasn't been to the second round of the playoffs since 1991. Wilson's situation is about as close to unique as it gets for star signal-callers.
Of course, he will tell you he did no such forcing. During his introductory news conference with the Broncos on Wednesday, Wilson — who had two years left on his contract — said the separation was "mutual." The Seahawks' story, however, was much more emphatic.
"While Russell made it clear he wanted this change, he made Seattle proud, and we are grateful for his decade of leadership on and off the field," Seahawks chair Jody Allen said in a team statement. "We look forward to welcoming our new players and to everyone being fully engaged while working our hardest to win every single day."
This wasn't subtle. Neither was Seahawks general manager John Schneider's response to a question when he and coach Pete Carroll met with media 45 minutes after Wilson wrapped up his Q&A with Denver media.
Is it true that Russell said he wouldn't sign another contract with you guys? a reporter asked.
"I don't know if those were the exact words, but we under the impression that there wouldn't be a long-term extension," Schneider responded.
Wilson helped give Seattle its only Super Bowl title and led the Seahawks to eight playoff appearances. He has won more games than any NFL quarterback through the first 10 years of his career. He led comeback after comeback and tossed dime after dime. He doesn't need to apologize, but you gotta admit — this forced trade was a little un-Wilson like.
You take a guy such as Aaron Rodgers, who has been much more open about his discontent in recent years. There was heavy speculation that he would want to move on from the Packers. The four-time MVP has come off like a jerk in the eyes of many of late. But he never left Green Bay and won't for a while.
Few can say exactly why Wilson wanted out. I asked Carroll if Russ gave any specifics for desiring a trade, but Pete refused to give any detail. My colleague Bob Condotta laid out several possibilities why the deal seemed inevitable last week — the reasons ranging from Carroll's return to a run-first offense, to Wilson's frustration with being hit so often, to the coaching staff muting his role in personnel decisions.
Hey, maybe Wilson just set a precedent for how quarterbacks will proceed when they're disgruntled. Kyrie Irving and James Harden have proven that forcing trades is the new normal among superstars in the NBA. And it's not as though Russell was going to stew and sit out next season if the Seahawks had refused the trade. That's not his brand and never will be.
It is interesting, though. The Seahawks weren't horrible last season — they lost thriller after thriller in that 7-10 campaign and likely would have made the playoffs had Wilson remained. He could have gone back to the postseason had he stayed.
Folks around Seattle will always be appreciative of Wilson. They'll never forget what he accomplished here. Having said that, they won't forget that he forced his way out with plenty of prime years ahead, either.
