Russell Wilson is not retiring despite his big career decision

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Russell Wilson is not retiring despite his big career decision

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Jun 1, 2026 3:42 PM ET

Russell Wilson has made a major career decision that, on the surface, should be the end of his NFL playing days. That might not necessarily be the case, however.

Multiple reports Monday indicated that Wilson has accepted an offer to join CBS’ “The NFL Today” as an analyst for the 2026 season. On the surface, that would suggest that Wilson’s illustrious playing career is over.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, however, characterized this as a “pause” on Wilson’s playing career, and emphasized that the quarterback is not formally retiring.

Pro Bowl QB Russell Wilson, who has an offer to be a backup QB, has elected to accept an offer to join the CBS Sports team for their Sunday pregame show and more, sources say (as @sportsrapport reported).

Wilson may not be retiring, but at least a pause on his playing career. pic.twitter.com/6484EEMXnh
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 1, 2026

It is entirely possible that Wilson’s decision leads to retirement, whether intended or not. He would hardly be the first player to leave the door open to playing again, only to receive no phone calls from interested teams.

We do know, however, that Wilson garnered interest as a backup this offseason. It is not out of the realm of possibility that a team that suffers a midseason quarterback injury or poor play might give him a call, at which point he would have a decision to make.

Wilson had been linked to a job with CBS last month. He will presumably get a hefty salary without having to take a bunch of hits every Sunday, but it sounds like he is not completely committing to that just yet.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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