As the Seattle Seahawks gear up for Super Bowl 60, a lot of people have dubbed it as a rematch of Super Bowl 49. Fans, however, know that's not really what it is since these are two completely different teams than the ones that squared off in the big game over a decade ago.
A big thing that has resurfaced leading up to this matchup, however, is the infamous moment in Super Bowl 49 where Russell Wilson threw a pass that was picked off instead of running the ball with Marshawn Lynch. Robert Griffin III was asked about this moment during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show and had quite the take on how differently things would have been in Seattle had that play not panned out the way it did.
Dan Patrick said that if the Seahawks run the ball there and Lynch scores the touchdown that Wilson and Pete Carroll would have two Super Bowls. RG3 then had this to say about Wilson:
"... and he'd still be in Seattle," Griffin boldly proclaimed. "100%. I think that single moment deteriorated the entire dynasty that was building in Seattle because it pitted [Wilson and Carroll] against each other at that point."
RG3 says if infamous pick doesn't happen in Super Bowl 49, Russell Wilson is still a Seahawk
This is a fascinating comment from RG3, who seems adamant that Wilson would have remained in Seattle long-term were it not for the pick that has haunted this franchise. What happened instead was that Wilson stayed with the Seahawks for seven more seasons (still a lengthy amount of time) but then the tension kept building between him and Carroll and eventually, he was traded to Denver during the 2022 offseason.
From there -- Well, we saw how things played out for Wilson in Denver. He played for the Broncos for two seasons, then joined the Steelers for a year and just had a forgettable year with the Giants. It certainly feels like Wilson's career is nearing the end, especially after his poor showing in New York.
Griffin's point is interesting but, to be honest, I'm not sure I entirely agree. It's not like the Seahawks did what the Rams did to Jared Goff after they lost a Super Bowl, they kept Wilson around for many, many years after the pick happened. Wilson was still performing at a high level too so keeping him for that long made sense.
When his production slowly started to decline and the tension had reached an all-time high, it made sense to trade him. It feels like that whole thing probably plays out in a similar fashion even if the Seahawks didn't lose Super Bowl 49 and had gone back-to-back.
Who knows though? Maybe that win in Super Bowl 49 means this Seahawks team continues to go on a tear and win championships, therefore making it impossible to part ways with Russ. The truth is that we'll never know how things would go in that universe because it's not the universe we live in.