Sherman takes jab at Russell Wilson as Giants bench him; Hall of Fame debate surfaces on Prime broadcast

Richard Sherman and Tony Gonzalez reignited a public debate about Russell Wilson's Hall of Fame status during halftime of the Seahawks-Cardinals Thursday Night Football game, broadcast by Amazon Prime. Gonzalez said, “Honestly, I hope we have. And I say that because just looking at him and his career, his legacy, like you talked about, if ever there was somebody who played himself out of a Hall of Fame, it’s Russell Wilson.” Sherman agreed, adding that Wilson's peak came with Seattle's Legion of Boom, and that life after that era has not matched the same level of success. “Yeah, I agree. I agree. I think you got to judge his career off when the Legion of Boom was there. You had a legendary defense, an all-time defense, and how much success he had and then without that legendary defense, the success he had. Without that legendary defense, he’s been 4-11, 7-8. 0-3 to start with the Giants. He was a winning football player in Seattle and people said, ‘Hey, winningest football player.’ All this good stuff, all these accolades. And now you get to go on your own and you get to prove, ‘Hey, I’m this great quarterback. I’m this guy that’s gonna be dominant.’ And it just hasn’t worked out that way.”</n> </n>Wilson, who left Seattle after the 2021 season, has faced scrutiny as the Giants benched him three weeks into the 2025 campaign in favor of rookie Jaxson Dart. Through three games this season, Wilson had accumulated 778 passing yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions before the team moved in a different direction. New York entered the Week 3 matchup with three losses, and the bench marked a notable shift in a season that had already begun under loud expectations after Wilson's prominent tenure with the Seahawks. The decision to bench him came amid a broader discussion about whether Wilson’s career can sustain a Hall of Fame case independent of Seattle’s dominant defenses in his prime.</n> </n>As the controversy swirled, former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III weighed in on X with a cryptic post that underscored how some ex-teammates viewed Wilson’s decline. “They doing Russell Wilson so dirty,” Griffin III posted, though he did not name Sherman. The message touched on how Wilson’s achievements — including his two Super Bowl appearances with Manning in Denver and Seattle’s earlier success — had been framed in public commentary, even as peers offered mixed opinions about his post-Seattle arc.</n> </n>Across New York, Wilson acknowledged the questions while meeting reporters after practice on September 24, 2025, declining to elaborate on the divisive remarks but signaling a continued effort to compete and reclaim a role with the Giants. The team had already moved to Dart after Week 3, a game that saw New York fall behind as Wilson’s drive to reassert himself faced a steep challenge and the Giants chased a more consistent offensive identity. Week 3 also included a setback in a loss to Kansas City, reinforcing the precarious position Wilson faced as he attempted to reestablish himself in New York’s starting lineup. His season-to-date line before the bench stood at 778 passing yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions, figures that contrasted sharply with the high expectations that followed his lengthy run as Seattle’s quarterback.

The discussion underscored how Wilson’s legacy remains a touchstone in evaluating quarterbacks who win at a high level but encounter uneven stretches in the later phases of their careers. Sherman’s comments, paired with Gonzalez’s, reflected a broader debate about how much a player’s résumé is defined by peak teams and defenses versus the individual achievements a player secures across multiple stops. As the Giants evaluated their quarterback room and plotted a path forward, Wilson’s Hall of Fame prospects remained a topic of conversation at the intersection of performance, context, and historical perspective, with teams and fans watching closely how the quarterback’s post-Seattle career unfolds.