Report: Ex-Broncos QB Russell Wilson Could Join Pete Carroll with Raiders

The AFC West is going to be a lot of fun if this happens. Oh, the grudges and rivalries!
Jan 11, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) looks on in the first quarter against the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC wild card game at M&T Bank Stadium.
Jan 11, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) looks on in the first quarter against the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC wild card game at M&T Bank Stadium. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The AFC West may have just gotten even tougher for the Denver Broncos. Pete Carroll is the new head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Carroll's arrival in Vegas has many implications and triggers many questions, not the least of which is: could Russell Wilson follow him to the Raiders? After all, Carroll and Wilson made sweet football music together for a decade with the Seattle Seahawks, going to two Super Bowls and winning one.

Together, the head coach/quarterback pair only missed the playoffs twice over that decade-long run in Seattle. According to one NFL insider, that relationship could be on the brink of being rekindled in Sin City.

The Athletic's Jeff Howe is already setting the stage for a Wilson return to the AFC West.

"With Pete Carroll taking over the Raiders, one name I’ve heard to watch at QB: Russell Wilson. They’ve mended fences, per source, and Wilson could be a stopgap while the Raiders develop a long-term answer," Howe posted on X.

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Wilson has complemented Carroll of late, naming him alongside Mike Tomlin as two great coaches he's played for. The omission of Sean Payton in Denver is obviously conspicuous there.

It's safe to assume that there's no love lost between Wilson and Payton, which makes a reunion with Carroll in Vegas sound all the more plausible. Wilson is coming off his one-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where the Broncos essentially paid him north of $30 million to play iln 2024.

The Steelers made the playoffs and produced a successful season with Wilson as the starter, but he really fizzled down the stretch and in the team's postseason loss. It's unclear whether the 36-year-old quarterback still factors into Pittsburgh's plans.

However, I could see Wilson following Carroll to Vegas and serving as the veteran stop-gap, as Howe surmises, while the Raiders develop a high-round draft pick. That would make for an even more explosive AFC West — a division that sent three teams to the playoffs this past season.


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Chad Jensen
CHAD JENSEN

Chad Jensen is the Founder of Mile High Huddle and creator of the wildly popular Mile High Huddle Podcast. Chad has been on the Denver Broncos beat since 2012 and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.