Who Does Russell Wilson Play for?

Long-time NFL quarterback Russell Wilson is playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers as of the 2024 NFL season after signing a one-year deal in the offseason. The nine-time pro bowler was born in Cincinnati, Ohio but grew up in Richmond, Virginia where he attended Collegiate school. The Super Bowl XLVIII champion represented North Carolina State University from 2007 to 2010 before transferring to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he played for one year. The North Carolina University has honored the No.16 jersey, which Russell used to don during his college days with the Wolfpack.

Russel's time in Pittsburgh has been off to a great start as he has led the Steelers to the 2024 playoffs on the back of a 6-5 record in 11 games he started. He passed for 2482 yards and had 16 passing touchdowns on the year (via Pro Football Reference).

Russell Wilson in Seattle

The Seattle Seahawks are responsible for bringing Russell Wilson to the NFL. In the 2012 NFL Draft, the Seahawks selected Wilson with the 75th overall pick in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft. When the team put him in as their starting quarterback in his rookie season, many were startled by this decision considering that the Seahawks had just recently signed Matt Flynn as a free agent.

In his rookie year, Wilson put the team on his back and led them to the playoffs with an 11-5 record. Wilson had emerged as a dual-threat quarterback from his first season itself, and put up numbers such as over 3,000 passing yards and 26 passing touchdowns to go along with 489 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns. The team narrowly lost in the Division round to the Atlanta Falcons on a last-gasp field goal.

2013 was only Wilson’s second year in the league but one year was more than enough for him to lead his team to the Super Bowl that year. Super Bowl XLVIII was a huge blowout as the Seahawks crushed the Denver Broncos 43-8 en route to their first-ever title in franchise history. Post 2013, Wilson again led the Seahawks to another Super Bowl appearance, but this time came up short against the New England Patriots.

From 2015 to 2021, Wilson continued to have super success with the team even though he didn’t find himself in the Championship game again. His play was still good and he earned multiple Pro Bowl selections and the team was a regular postseason presence, missing out only twice in that period. 2021 was the worst season for Wilson as a Seahawk as he went 6-8 in 14 games as a starter.

Russell Wilson in Denver

In March 2022, the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos did business with each other which saw Russell Wilson land in Denver along with a fourth-round pick. In exchange, the Seahawks received a combination of quarterback Drew Lock, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, and tight end Noah Fant along with a boatload of draft picks which included two first-rounds, two second-rounds, and one fifth-round. This move was being looked at as a good one for both Wilson and the Broncos. Sadly, this was not the case as the Broncos managed only five wins and Russell went 4-11 in his 15 games as a starter. This is the worst record of Wilson’s entire NFL career.

In his second season, Wilson and the Broncos got off to a terrible start going 1-5 to start the year that also included a huge loss to the Miami Dolphins who put 70 points on them. And, although Wilson did lead a comeback of sorts, the damage was already done. He finished his second year in Denver with a 7-8 record from 15 starts.