Raiders free agency: Signing Russell Wilson would be catastrophic

Wilson would not fit Antonio Pierce's new culture

While it’s been established that Wilson is not fit for the Raiders on the field, or any team at this point in his career, his effect on the team’s culture could be the biggest reason not to sign him. 

With Antonio Pierce making the transition from interim head coach to the full-time position, the team’s culture is a big reason why he was selected. A Raiders fan since he was a child, Pierce has rallied the Las Vegas locker room and they have responded to him by playing competitive football down the stretch of last season. 

The locker room is rejuvenated after the debacle that was the Josh McDaniels era and the team finally feels like the Raiders once again. Whether it’s smoking cigars after each win or doing the “Raiders” chant in the locker room, the team has made it clear they’re searching for players who fit the culture first and foremost. 

As such, Wilson represents a player who could not be further from this as his off-field entourage is well-documented and was a point of contention between him and Sean Payton. Furthermore, both Richard Sherman and Marshawn Lynch who were teammates with him in Seattle, commented that to contact their teammate they had to go through his manager first. 

For the most part, it seems as if many of Wilson’s teammates with the Seahawks were not huge fans of the former Pro Bowl quarterback, and the team was split on the offense’s philosophy due to the “Let Russ Cook” movement. He was even displeased with the Seattle front office looking into a plan for the future at quarterback. 

Besides his reputation as a “corny” person, Wilson just doesn’t feel or act like a Raiders quarterback. The team made a similar mistake last off-season when they signed Jimmy Garoppolo who was never a fit with the rest of the Las Vegas locker room. 

Adding a player like Russell Wilson is a move that comes with a large amount of baggage. The entire league will be watching the former star quarterback to see if he can rebound from the calamity that made up most of the last three seasons. If he doesn’t, the Silver and Black will be the laughingstock of the league for signing a player they had a front-row seat to in the division. 

Unless the plan is to be in contention for a top quarterback such as Carson Beck or Shedeur Sanders in the 2025 NFL Draft, signing Wilson would be the worst-case scenario for the Raiders and could cost both Pierce and Tom Telesco their jobs.