Russell Wilson's time in Seattle is not unlimited. Judging from his comments Thursday, it might soon be running out.
The mercurial quarterback offered wide-ranging answers to direct questions about the present state of the Seahawks, reiterating that his focus is on today while mostly discussing the past and future. Unsolicited, he hinted at possibly playing elsewhere after this season, adding a dose of drama to Sunday's home finale versus the Lions.
"I know you guys asked Bobby (Wagner) about, could this be your last game, and this and that and all that?" Wilson said. "I know for me personally, I hope it's not my last game (in Seattle), but at the same time, I know it won't be my last game in the NFL. So I'm just focused on today and getting better today. That's my focus, that's my goal, I love this city and I love this moment, I love these guys, so we got to make sure we get better today. That's the only thing that matters."
As this lost Seahawks season comes to a close, the face of the franchise remaining on the roster obviously matters much more. But Wilson used his Thursday presser to drop multiple Easter eggs pointing toward a potential departure. When asked what changes need to be made within the organization, the seven-time Pro Bowler repeatedly pointed to his career goal of winning three more Super Bowls.
"Excellence is the standard and I think that's what we want to be able to match," he said. "To be able to get back to winning and to championships and everything else, I know for me personally, I've always thought about it, I've never been shy about it, I want to win three more Super Bowls, that's been in my head. And so for me, how do we get there, how does that happen, and how do we do all that? I think it's a big goal if you don't believe you can do it. At the same time, I think we have the opportunity to, me in particular, I think about it every day. Just trying to win, trying to do everything I can there."
Wilson, who's played in two Super Bowls with the Seahawks and won one, is clearly convinced he can win a few more. Never mind that outside of Tom Brady, no quarterback has won more than two Super Bowls over the past 25 years. Only three other QBs have won three-plus SB titles in league history (Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Troy Aikman), and they did it in relatively condensed stretches for dynastic teams. The 2021 Seahawks (5-10) are far from that, guaranteed to finish last in the NFC West after failing to advance past the Divisional Round the previous six seasons.
In light of this year's momentous slide -- Wilson had never experienced even one losing season prior -- the 33-year-old QB was asked if he believed he could win three more championships with the Seahawks.
"I hope so," Wilson said. "Obviously we can't do it not being in the playoffs right now, but most importantly I think it takes a lot of effort, it takes a lot of things, it takes a lot of pieces, and I think that we have a good amount of those pieces."
The biggest piece, of course, is Wilson. The superstar QB's latest comments will surely reignite the flame from this past spring when his agent shared four teams that he was willing to be traded to. Earlier this month, ąú˛úÍâÁ÷ÍřNetwork Insider Ian Rapoport confirmed a report stating Wilson would strongly consider waiving his no-trade clause for the Broncos, Giants or Saints.
The circumstances surrounding such a move are a bit different this time around, however. Wilson recently suffered the first major injury of his 10-year career, and is having arguably his worst campaign. He's under contract for two more seasons and $51 million (with two franchise tags at the team's disposal), and with a dramatically reduced dead cap hit in 2022 ($26 million, compared to $58 million this year).
In short, Wilson isn't the only one with a big decision to make in the offseason.
