Former Broncos' QB Russell Wilson announces retirement after 14 seasons

When the Denver Broncos swung that trade for Russell Wilson in 2022, it felt like all the pain of the post-Peyton Manning years was gone. Unfortunately, more pain was on the menu for the franchise. Not only was Wilson regressing big-time, but he was, in 2022, a bottom-3 player at the position.

Things got a bit better in 2023, when Sean Payton arrived, but a lot of what Wilson was doing was clearly the equivalent of empty calories. The passing game just was not a functional unit, as the Broncos had clearly made a major mistake in trading for Wilson.

Cutting ties after 30 starts, an 11-19 record, and a lot of forgettable moments, Wilson then played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants. After 14 years, Wilson retired from the NFL.

Former Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson retires after 14 years in the NFL

Wilson uploaded this video to his Twitter/X account on Wednesday, confirming that he's done playing football.

He's heading to CBS Sports for what appears to be a new endeavor as an NFL commentator, which is something the bubbly Wilson is surely going to excel at. Through 14 years in the NFL, here's what Wilson was able to accomplish:

121-80-1 record
46,966 passing yards
353 touchdowns
114 interceptions
99.3 passer rating

5,568 rushing yards
31 rushing touchdowns

10x Pro Bowl
1x Super Bowl Champion
2020 Walter Payton Man of the Year

There are only a handful of quarterbacks in the history of the league who accomplished as much or more as Wilson did. The main knock on his career is the odd lack of All-Pros or MVP votes. To me, though, that feels like a bigger indictment on that voting process, as Wilson was an elite quarterback for almost 10 years with the Seattle Seahawks.

Finishing with over 50,000 total yards and 384 total touchdowns, Wilson leaves an interesting legacy in the NFL. He was truly elite with the Seahawks, but was honestly laughably bad in his post-Seahawks days. Wilson was also never a player who really spoke out negatively, so he became someone that people were able to trash quite easily.

A lot of that criticism was unfair. Wilson retires as no worse than a top-3 dual-threat quarterback ever. He's likely heading to the Hall of Fame one day, and it's really just a shame that it did not work out with the Broncos.

You can't fault General Manager George Paton for taking the swing, and it's good that the franchise was able to rebound with Bo Nix. Anyway, after 14 years in the NFL with four teams, Wilson calls it a career.

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