Russell Wilson may stop playing and go to TV this year
The Athletic's Andrew Marchand reported in a Friday article that former Seattle Seahawks star QB Russell Wilson is in "deep discussions to go into television."
AUSTIN, TEXAS - MARCH 14: Russell Wilson speaks during Inc. Founders House Presents "Rebooting The Internet And Redefining Impact With Alexis Ohanian And Russell Wilson" Moderated By Mike Hofman, Editor In Chief, Inc. at Foxy's Proper Pub on March 14, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Anna Webber/Getty Images for Inc. at Inc. Founders House at SXSW)
(Photo by Anna Webber/Getty Images for Inc. at Inc. Founders House at SXSW)
In the same week that it was reported that Russell Wilson is in the running to serve as the New York Jets’ backup to Geno Smith, a new report said that the former Seattle Seahawks star quarterback is considering hanging up his cleats.
Russell Wilson could be Geno Smith’s backup with Jets
The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported in a Friday article that the 37-year-old Wilson is in “deep discussions to go into television.”
Marchand wrote that CBS’s Sunday pregame show, “The NFL Today,” is the favorite to add Wilson to its crew should he decide to go the TV analyst route. Wilson has experience working with CBS in the past, including last season during the Giants’ bye week.
“The NFL Today” has a quarterback-shaped vacancy after Matt Ryan left the show to become president of football for the Falcons less than four years after taking his last snap in the NFL.
Wilson met with the Jets this week, which brought to light the very interesting possibility that he could serve as the backup for Smith in quite the role reversal. Smith backed up Wilson for three seasons with the Seahawks, then took over as Seattle’s starting QB following the trade of Wilson to the Denver Broncos in 2022.
Smith, who was traded by the Seahawks to the Las Vegas Raiders last offseason, was dealt to the Jets in March, sending him back to the team where he had an initial failure as a starter in his first two pro seasons after New York drafted him in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
As for Wilson, he is currently a free agent after playing six games with three starts in 2025 with the New York Giants. Prior to joining the Jets, Wilson started 11 games in 2024 for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who he signed with following his release from the Broncos after two disappointing seasons in the wake of a blockbuster trade from the Seahawks and massive extension with Denver.
Wilson quarterbacked the Seahawks to back-to-back Super Bowls in the second and third years of his career, including a title in 2013. The 2012 third-round draft pick made the Pro Bowl nine times and was named the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2020 while with Seattle.
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Comments
2 Comments
I wonder what his legacy would have been if he stayed in Seattle?
Money shouldn't be an object for Russ, but he'd likely make more as a TV analyst than a backup QB. His legs seem unlikely to stage a comeback. But he could probably be a 2016 Russ, when he played through all the leg injuries.