Former Seattle legend shares love for the 2025 Seahawks and Sam Darnold

We’re coming up on the fourth-year anniversary of one of the biggest trades in the history of the NFL and Seattle sports. Russell Wilson, the starting quarterback for the Seahawks for a full decade and winner of the squad’s only Super Bowl championship, shipped to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a few players and several draft picks.

It wasn’t immediately obvious how the trade was going to work out for the parties involved. Fan reaction was mixed. It was certainly unconventional, as most NFL teams cling onto their quarterbacks until they are undisputedly washed up. Russ was coming off his worst year as a pro, but he had gutted through a severe finger injury and the numbers weren’t that bad.

After the trade, Wilson still had one more game to play in Seattle. His very next game, in fact. Monday Night Football of the season opener, Broncos against Seahawks, a natural selection for the league given the massive trade that had just gone down. Most expected Seattle to have a bad year with Geno Smith at quarterback, and most expected Denver to become a contender.

Seattle ended up winning the game, 17-16. Almost as notable as that result was the way the stadium greeted Russell Wilson on his return to the field where he had delivered so many big plays and wins. A packed stadium, mostly Seahawks fans, hit him with the boo birds, expressing their displeasure with his conduct that offseason and his trade request.

Harmless gamesmanship? A natural reaction? Disrespect to a franchise all-time great? Everyone had their own stance on it. If the intent was to help the Seahawks win the game, it worked. If it was to provoke a historic career crash-and-burn that would result in Russell Wilson becoming one of the worst quarterbacks in the sport, well, that worked too.

The differing paths the organization and player would walk were set. Russell Wilson stewarded the league’s worst offense in 2022, approaching historic levels of incompetency, while the Seahawks made a surprise run to the postseason, with career backup Geno Smith breaking some of Wilson’s records as the starting quarterback.

There wasn’t much sympathy for Wilson’s fall from grace from Seahawks fans. In my experience interacting with the fanbase at this time, most fans were content to mock and deride him as he found new and shocking ways to lose week after week. At best, they were happy that the draft picks they had traded for were going to be so valuable. No love for the legend.

Russ's brutal tenure in Denver was mostly the subject of mockery for Seattle fans. — Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton talks with quarterback Russell Wilson (3). | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

There was a minor resurgence in 2023 under new coach Sean Payton for Russ, as his numbers picked up, but the Broncos still ended up with a losing record and no postseason. Seattle repeated a nine win season with no postseason as well, but pivoted off of Pete Carroll to Mike Macdonald that offseason. Denver would come up with a pivot of their own soon after.

Russell Wilson was released in March, Denver eating $85 million dollars in dead money to make it happen. Russ got his money thanks to a quarter billion dollar extension he signed before playing a game in Denver, but his reputation was on the floor. He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the veteran minimum to try to rebuild it.

That experiment had its moments, as Wilson did provide better play than he had in a few years, and he did end up in the postseason. But his time in Pittsburgh ended on a five-game losing streak, including a decisive beatdown in the Wild Card round. It was slightly better than how Seattle fared, who missed the playoffs (although both teams won ten games).

But now, in 2025, the two have ended up in almost exact opposite locations. The Seahawks retooled a bit in the offseason and went 14-3, earning the NFC’s number one seed, and now one game away from the Super Bowl. Russell Wilson latched onto the New York Giants late in free agency and then lasted three games as the starter before hitting the bench.

Russ says he wants to continue his career in 2026. I’m skeptical there’s going to be any interest in him given his recent play, including a streak of eight straight losses in games he’s started. If he does find a starting job, it’ll likely be with a very short leash, akin to what the Giants had on him this year. Simply put, he’s down at the bottom, and the Seahawks are back at the top.

And he’s certainly aware of where his former team is currently positioned. Earlier today, he tweeted out some admiration and respect for what they’re doing, particularly as it pertains to last night’s 41-6 blowout victory against the San Francisco 49ers, the team that he had remarkable success against during his time as a Seahawk.

“Last Night’s game… shows how LEGIT this @Seahawks Team is…”, he tweeted, as Seattle matched their biggest margin of victory in a playoff game, equalling Super Bowl 48’s 35 points. The 2025 Seahawks broke the franchise record of 13 regular season wins, split between the 2005 and 2013 Seahawks, the latter of which was done with Wilson behind center.

He's still the only Seattle quarterback to do this. — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson hoists the Vince Lombardi Trophy after Super Bowl XLVIII. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The 2025 Seahawks also broke the franchise record for points scored, another record that Wilson had a piece of, as the 2020 Seahawks held the high water mark previously, also with Russell at quarterback. If they can win two more games, they’ll likely be remembered as the best team in franchise history. How Wilson feels about that possibility is anyone’s guess.

But externally, he seems to be entirely positive about it. Now, I find myself wondering about how this fanbase is going to feel about Russell when his career is over and it’s time to step back and judge the big picture. Clearly, in the year or two after his departure, there were some hard feelings, but positive statements like this one will help people move past that.

At the end of the day, we’re talking about a historically great quarterback, easily the best this team has ever had. It’d be better for everyone if the organization and fanbase are able to embrace him and remember the good times, and not judge him too harshly for his conduct at the end that led to the divorce.

Speaking of quarterbacks, Wilson also had positive words for new Seahawk signal-caller Sam Darnold in his tweet.

“And I Love Sam Darnold’s comeback story!” he added, referencing Sam’s journey from failed starter in New York and Carolina, to backup in San Francisco, to franchise quarterback in Minnesota and now Seattle. It’s a great endorsement, from the top quarterback in team history to the new guy, who made the Pro Bowl in his first year as a Seahawk.

I don’t know if a single positive tweet is going to reverse the feelings of the fanbase, but I have long theorized that time will heal this particular wound. For the moment, he remains an active player in the NFL not playing on the Seahawks, so on some level, he’s the enemy. When he hangs it up and calls it a career, that element goes away, and people will warm up.

But it can’t be a bad thing for him to put his stamp of approval on the current squad, and as he inevitably heads for his post-NFL life, it’d be nice to have at least one team and one fanbase that embraces him.

Russ likes what he sees from new Seattle QB Sam Darnold. — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) calls a play at the line of scrimmage against the San Francisco 49ers. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

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