Seahawks reporter drops some tiresome hate on Russell Wilson

Russell Wilson's usefulness to the Seattle Seahawks ended last offseason. That is when the final draft picks were taken by Seattle from the trade that sent Wilson to the Denver Broncos. (Seattle does hold a pick from Denver in the 2024 NFL draft but that is from a separate trade with Denver that occurred during the 2023 NFL draft and had nothing to do with Wilson.)

There is going to be a small section of 12s that always harbor ill will toward Wilson. That is their right and they have their reasons. But for the most part, 12s will likely be appreciative of the years Wilson played in Seattle and helped the team win a lot of games. Was he the best teammate ever? Nope. But he was the best quarterback in Seahawks history.

The trade that sent Wilson to Denver also helped. Wilson and the Broncos were terrible in 2022 which meant Seattle ended up with a top-five draft pick in 2023. The team would not have players such as Charles Cross, Boye Mafe, and Devon Witherspoon without trading Wilson. Many rooted for Wilson to fail with Denver in the 2022 season and that made sense. A bad Broncos season meant better draft picks for Seattle.

Seattle Seahawks reporter slams Russell Wilson in two-year-old grudge

But whatever Wilson did in 2023 did not matter. He also was released by Denver after this past season so that had to be humiliating as well. Wilson's ego got too big in Seattle and that ended with him being banished. But the team did not fall apart without him.

Recently, however, Ian Furness of KJR Radio in Seattle did an interview with Tim Benz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and Furness (who, for the record, I generally like and respect) decided to open old wounds and tell Steelers fans how bad Wilson could be for the team. Not Wilson the player, but Wilson the person. We are now two years removed from Wilson leaving and he might have changed as a person or how he acted with the Seahawks has no bearing on how he will be with the Steelers.

In other words, Furness did not have to trash Wilson. He did so anyway.

Furness told Benz, "A lot of things started to change when (he got married to Ciara) and he became a, 'Look at me guy.' He became a problem inside the facility, with the front office, and with the staff, and it just snowballed from there until they traded him."

He also said he used to "like" Wilson but then after he got married, Wilson changed. To be honest, who cares if Furness likes Wilson or not? Covering sports isn't about liking or disliking a player but observing what he does and commenting on that objectively. Furness also wasn't part of the Seahawks locker room as a player so his words might carry more weight had he played or coached with and for Seattle.

Simply put, the trashing of Russell Wilson has gotten stale and old. Seattle has some better players because the Seahawks traded Wilson. But the team also had more wins than they otherwise would in the 2010s because Wilson was the quarterback.

Read more from 12th Man Rising