The Latest Russell Wilson Injury Update Is Great News for Those Anxiously Awaiting His Showdown With Aaron Rodgers
Article Highlights:
- Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has been fully cleared to play by his doctor
- Wilson has missed Seattle’s last three games due to a finger injury on his throwing hand
- This likely sets up a massive matchup between Wilson and Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers
Ahead of their Week 10 matchup with the 7-2 Green Bay Packers, the Seattle Seahawks just received great news on the status of quarterback Russell Wilson.
Wilson has been fully cleared to play football, which means that he’ll be able to take the field as the Hawks travel to Green Bay to take on a very dangerous Packers team.
The Seahawks are in the midst of a tough season, much in part because Wilson has been unavailable. They’ve lost three out of their last four games and are teetering on the edge of being out of the playoff hunt before Thanksgiving.
With Wilson back, the Seahawks may have a chance to turn things around, but it will not be easy.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has been cleared to play
According to the team, Wilson has finally recovered from his finger injury, and it looks like he’s expected to get the start against the Packers.
The star quarterback suffered injuries to the middle finger on his throwing hand midway through the third quarter in Seattle’s 26-17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in early October. He had surgery a day after the game, and the injury was apparently so bad that his doctor felt that they were in what he claimed to be “uncharted territory.”
“Though this was uncharted territory (I have never in my career seen such a severe injury to the throwing hand of an NFL quarterback), I have also never encountered a player so committed to his postoperative therapy and with so much conviction to return to the same, if not better, level of performance as he had pre-injury,” Doctor Steve Shin wrote in a statement. “I am absolutely amazed at his progress, so much so that I can now confidently clear him for full return to play without reservation.”
Knowing what we do about Wilson’s work ethic as a quarterback, it’s not all that surprising to hear that he was as dedicated to getting better as he is to the ins and outs of playing at a high level in the NFL.
For his part, the quarterback did release a hype video showing off aspects of his recovery.
Notably, it included a shot of Lambeau Field.
The Seahawks have an uphill battle ahead of them, even with Wilson
The Hawks currently find themselves at the bottom of the NFC West, and the bad news is that it’s arguably the best division in football.
Even coming off a loss to the Tennessee Titans, the Los Angeles Rams are still at 7-2 and firmly in the hunt for the top seed in the NFC. Despite losing to the Packers a few weeks ago, the Arizona Cardinals are still 8-1 and coming off a resounding win over the San Francisco 49ers.
With Green Bay up next on the schedule, the Seahawks can’t get caught looking ahead to Arizona the following week. Speaking of Arizona, the Seahawks still have to play the Cardinals on the road to end the season in January. They also have to go to play the Rams in LA in mid-December. That’s two road games against two of the top teams not just in the division, but in the entire NFL.
This isn’t going to be easy for Seattle.
Even a win against the Packers would improve Seattle’s record to just 4-5, so there’s a lot of work still left to be done for the Seahawks.
It’s worth noting that head coach Pete Carroll isn’t yet pessimistic about his team’s chances of success for the rest of 2021, and he had this to say before the bye, according to Mike Salk:
“We have a chance to have a really good football season. It doesn’t look like that to many people, but we really don’t care about anybody on the outside in that regard. We’re going to direct our focus based on what we know we can get done, so here we go. The second half is already underway.”
Pete Carroll looking ahead to the rest of the season for the Seattle Seahawks.
This matchup between Wilson and Rodgers will be must-see
The Packers and Seahawks have developed one of the NFL’s better rivalries, and the matchups between Wilson and Rodgers have been a big part of that.
Now that Wilson is cleared to play, the NFL as a whole will get another chance to experience one of the better head-to-head quarterback duals over the past decade.
Recent history is deep and complicated between these two teams. There was the “Fail Mary” game on Monday Night Football that saw Wilson toss a controversial touchdown pass to Golden Tate that won the game for Seattle. Green Bay’s epic overtime collapse against the Seahawks in the 2014 NFC Championship is another classic game that comes to mind.
It hasn’t been all good for the Seahawks, either.
The two teams last met in the 2020 NFC divisional playoffs, and the Packers came away with a 28-23 victory. In fact, since the overtime loss in the NFC Championship, the Packers have won four of the last five matchups between the two organizations.
This time around, there’s a lot on the line for both teams.
The importance of this game for the Seahawks has been documented. On the other hand, the Packers are coming off just their second loss of the season after Jordan Love had an underwhelming start in place of Rodgers.
Getting back on the winning track will be vital for a Green Bay team in the hunt for the top seed in the NFC.
As most know by now, Rodgers missed the game because of a positive COVID-19 test. The drama surrounding his vaccination status and wild follow-up interview on the Pat McAfee show aside, the earliest the three-time MVP can return to the team is the Saturday before the game. That’s the day his 10-day quarantine is up, though he does also have to test negative as well as no longer show any symptoms.
Head coach Matt LaFleur has indicated that Rodgers will get the start if he’s cleared, and that’s even though he’ll miss all of the practices leading up to the game.
With both teams needing a win, the Packers and Seahawks are both set to get their star quarterbacks back into action.
With 16 Pro Bowl appearances between the two players, this is excellent news for fans of both squads and fans of NFL football as a whole.
Stats courtesy of ESPN and Pro Football Reference.
