Russell Wilson is hoping that his third team since leaving the Seahawks is the perfect fit. Eli Manning was unimpressed with his first try.
Russell Wilson’s career is getting dangerously close to being separated into two halves. The first half was with the Seattle Seahawks.
As a member of the Seattle Seahawks, Russell Wilson was a powerhouse and one of the faces of the league. However, since things started cooling with the franchise in 2020, the quarterback has bounced around to various franchises with varying degrees of success.
After the Seahawks, he joined the Denver Broncos, where he failed to provide a winning season in two years. Then, Wilson went to the Pittsburgh Steelers as a one-and-done quarterback.
However, his 2022 season with the Denver Broncos was the lowest moment of his career. Seemingly, everyone was cracking jokes at Russell Wilson’s expense. Eli Manning joined in but was forced to apologize.
Eli Manning walks back Russell Wilson joke
Speaking to Front Office Sports on September 27, 2022, former Giants quarterback Eli Manning walked back comments made on a September 26, 2022, edition of the “Manningcast.”
“No, I don’t think we’re trying to be critical. I think we always try to support the guys that are in the game. I think sometimes, ‘Hey, it’s live TV.’ I never try to take a real shot at somebody. I think that was obviously a very outrageous joke—because a punter had 10 punts. Nothing against Russell. He’s going to do great.”
Manning had joked that Wilson’s punter deserved every dime of Wilson’s $235 million contract.
Of course, Wilson’s power in the organization eroded by the end of the 2022 season. In 2023, Sean Payton arrived and appeared to subsequently rip the quarterback’s influence with the team to shreds. By the end of the season, he was benched. Weeks later, he was released.
Russell Wilson joins Giants to succeed Manning QB for second time
Fast forward to 2025, and the New York Giants have now signed the quarterback to help reverse the team’s course. Wilson’s arrival marks the second notable quarterback addition since Eli Manning retired after the 2019 season.
It will be Wilson’s second attempt to follow up a Manning brother. Wilson had been seen as the true successor to Peyton Manning in the summer before reality struck in 2022. Now, Wilson is tasked with following up Eli Manning and Daniel Jones.
Of course, expectations are much more tempered this time around. Will the two-time Manning successor get it right on the second try?
