The Denver Broncos honestly messed around at the quarterback position for years and years following the retirement of Peyton Manning, one of the greatest to ever play the game. It did feel like the Broncos were getting out of the mud when, a little over four years ago, major news broke that the team had traded for Russell Wilson.
Up to that point, Wilson had spent his entire 10-year career with the Seattle Seahawks, cementing himself as one of the best of this generation and also beating the Broncos back in Super Bowl 48. After two underwhelming years with the Broncos in 2022 and 2023, the Broncos cut ties with the quarterback and took on $85 million in dead cap.
That dead cap was on the team's books through the 2025 season. Wilson then suited up for the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants, also not amounting to much. Unfortunately for Wilson, his best days have been behind him for years now, and while his prime was something to behold, some recent news seems to indicate that his NFL career is all but done.
Former Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson is now heading to CBS Sports
Perhaps an unofficial end to a future Hall of Fame career, Wilson is now heading to CBS Sports as an analyst:
Sources: Ten-time Pro-Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson is finalizing a deal to become a CBS Sports analyst. Wilson won a Super Bowl, the Walter Payton Man of the Year award and now leaves the NFL to become an analyst on the network’s pregame show that includes James Brown, Nate… pic.twitter.com/YEsi3OyDRv
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 1, 2026
Wilson, 37 years old, has honestly not been a good quarterback since his final season with the Seahawks, which was back in 2021. While Wilson's de-facto NFL career was essentially 10 seasons, he was able to amass 10 Pro Bowls, a Walter Payton Man of the Year award, 353 passing touchdowns, and just under 47,000 passing yards.
He also added 5,568 rushing yards and 31 rushing touchdowns, also cementing himself as one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. Given that his skill set revolved around being mobile and making plays out of structure, his prime wasn't going to last very long.
While a decade as a top-tier quarterback in the NFL is a long time, there have been other players at the position who have sustained success a lot longer. Wilson was simply not that type of player - he was never able to stand tall in the pocket and play on time.
And that's OK! His NFL career is among the 1 percent of 1 percent, and his eventual Hall of Fame bust won't come as a shock. This transition to being an analyst is also likely Wilson realizing that his future in the NFL is virtually non-existent.
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