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Brady HendersonESPN
SEATTLE — Russell Wilson hopes Sunday won’t be his last time playing at Lumen Field as the Seattle Seahawks quarterback.
Wilson volunteered as much during his weekly news conference in a somewhat out-of-nowhere comment that acknowledged his uncertain future in Seattle.
The Seahawks (5-10) host the Detroit Lions (2-12-1), then close out their disappointing season on the road against the Arizona Cardinals.
A day earlier, linebacker Bobby Wagner answered in the affirmative when asked if he wonders if he’ll remain with the Seahawks beyond this season given his huge cap number. Wilson and Wagner have been franchise cornerstones since they were drafted together in 2012, helping the Seahawks win the Super Bowl the next season and nearly repeat as champions the following year.
Wilson’s comment about Sunday’s game possibly being his last as a Seahawk at Lumen Field came near the end of a longer answer he gave in response to a follow-up question about how he had just said his goal is to win three more Super Bowls. He was asked if he believes he can do that in Seattle given the direction of the franchise.
“I hope so,” he said. “Obviously we can’t do it not being in the playoffs right now. But I think that most importantly, 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, a lot of them. It’s been a tough season.”
Wilson then listed some of the challenges the Seahawks have faced while suffering double-digit losses for the first time since 2009, including safety Jamal Adams‘ season-ending labrum tear, absences due to COVID-19 and their many near misses in narrow defeats. The Seahawks are 2-5 this season in one-score games. He didn’t mention his own broken finger that sidelined him for three games and has possibly impacted his own performance since he returned in Week 10. Wilson ranks 22nd in QBR in that span.
“Like I said, I’m focused on today,” he said. “We’ve got a really good football team that’s coming in. Their record may not show it, but they’re playing really tough football. They’re playing really good football and they’ve played it in the past four weeks in particular. They’ve been battling and battling and battling. They beat some good teams in terms of Arizona and Minnesota. So that’s the focus of today.
“I know you guys asked Bobby about could this be your last game [in Seattle as a Seahawk],” Wilson continued. “I know for me personally, I hope it’s not my last game, 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. So that’s my focus and that’s my goal. I love this city and I love this moment. I love these guys. We’ve got to make sure we get better today. That’s the only thing that matters.”
Wilson’s future has been in question since his frustrations with the organization bubbled to the surface last February, leading to discussions between the Seahawks and Bears about a possible trade. Wilson has planned to revisit those concerns after the season.
The four-year, $140 million extension he signed in 2019 includes a no-trade clause that allows him to veto any trade that he wouldn’t welcome. But all of Wilson’s public remarks about wanting to stay in Seattle have come with the unspoken qualifier that he wants to do so under the right circumstances.
One source of the frustrations Wilson publicly aired last offseason was all the hits he has taken. When asked Thursday how he feels that has gone this year, Wilson gave a positive assessment of his offensive line, mentioning all five of last week’s starters by name.
The Seahawks rank 17th in ESPN’s pass block win rate, which measures how frequently a block is sustained for 2.5 seconds or longer. They were ninth in PBWR last season.
“I think the line’s been battling their butts off,” Wilson said. “We’ve been doing a great job up front. Those guys have been kicking butt up there and we’ve played some really good football teams, obviously in our division and such. We’ve had a great season in the sense of that and especially with COVID, thinking about guys in and out and all that.”