Russell Wilson is back. The eight-time Pro Bowl quarterback has been sidelined since fracturing a finger in his throwing hand in the Seattle Seahawks' loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5, and has been on injured reserve ever since, working his way back to taking the field. His goal was to be ready for Week 10 when the Seahawks take on the Green Bay Packers, and he's achieved it, being medically cleared to start on Nov. 14, per CBS Sports NFL insider Jason La Canfora.
Wilson, who has gone through his pregame on-field routine each week has been champing at the bit to get back to work, in a season that's dangerously close to slipping away for the Seahawks in a division that's seeing the Rams and Arizona Cardinals create distance from the Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers. Under Geno Smith, the Seahawks mustered only a 1-2 record.
After missing only three games -- by virtue of last week being a bye -- Wilson released a video on Twitter confirming his status.
"It's time," he said.
It’s Time. pic.twitter.com/DVdHxn9hos
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) November 8, 2021
This sets the stage for a duel between Wilson and Aaron Rodgers, the latter expected to retake the starting role from Jordan Love after one game missed due to a positive COVID-19 test. Rodgers is scheduled to be released from quarantine on Saturday and likely available for Sunday, but that also means he will have not practiced in nearly two weeks.
That's not anything Wilson can take for granted though, seeing as he hasn't practiced since the first week in October.
Things weren't exactly going swimmingly for Seahawks prior to his injury, so his return won't negate all that needs to be done in order to get the team turned around. They were just 2-2 going into Week 5 and are now 3-5 on the season, with major question marks surrounding the team's defense over a large part of this season. There can be no doubt that Wilson immediately injects a surge of adrenaline though, being the best player in the building and one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and getting him back to build upon a throttling of the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 8 could be the right medicine for Seattle.
That's their hope, at least, because they'll need to piece together quite the win streak and hope for the Rams and Cardinals to come down a few pegs before the regular season is all said-and-done.
