Entering his 13th season in the NFL, Russell Wilson has accomplished a lot. He is teetering on the edge of a Hall of Fame career, and another solid season or two should solidify his eventual golden jacket.
He accomplished the first step of that equation by winning the quarterback battle with Justin Fields to be the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024. The next step is justifying that decision with solid play. If he manages to play the whole season and performs at least reasonably within his career standards, Wilson should have a big year for the history books.
Wilson has a solid chance of advancing on the all-time list for multiple notable statistics, including two that could land him in the top 10. There is also one unfortunate stat that he could find himself the all-time leader of.
All stats are pulled from Pro Football Reference.
Passing Yards
Wilson enters the season with 43,653 career passing yards. There is not a single person above him on the list with more seasons played, and most of the quarterbacks have played several more seasons. Obviously the seasons have more total games played these days, but still impressive.
Below are the quarterbacks that he has a realistic chance of passing. I included Moon as a point reference for the next set of goals, but he doesn’t have a chance of getting there this year.
| Rank | Player | Pass Yards |
Seasons Played
|
| 13 | Warren Moon+ | 49,325 | 17 |
| 14 | Fran Tarkenton+ | 47,003 | 18 |
| 15 | Carson Palmer | 46,247 | 14 |
| 16 | Vinny Testaverde | 46,233 | 21 |
| 17 | Drew Bledsoe | 44,611 | 14 |
| 18 | Joe Flacco* | 43,936 | 16 |
| 19 | Russell Wilson* | 43,653 | 12 |
* Still Active
+ Hall Of Fame
In his 12 seasons, Wilson has averaged 3,637 yards. He will advance to 14th place and pass Hall of Fame QB Fran Tarkenton if he can perform at, or slightly below, his average.
Passing Touchdowns
Wilson enters the season with 334 passing touchdowns. Same as passing yards, he is on a great historic pace with nobody above him that has played fewer seasons.
Below are the quarterbacks that he has a realistic chance of passing. Once again, I included Matt Ryan for reference, but he obviously does not have a chance there.
| Rank | Player | TD | Seasons Played |
| 9 | Matt Ryan | 381 | 15 |
| 10 | Eli Manning | 366 | 16 |
| 11 | Matthew Stafford* | 357 | 15 |
| 12 | Fran Tarkenton+ | 342 | 18 |
| 13 | Russell Wilson* | 334 | 12 |
* Still Active
+ Hall Of Fame
Wilson has averaged 27.8 touchdown passes per season. Last year, he had 26. He would have to have a really good year to make it into the top 10 and pass Eli Manning, but it is possible. He has had more than the 32 required in four seasons throughout his career.
More impressive, he is 112th in career interceptions with 106 in his career. That is a healthy ratio.
Quarterback Wins
Wilson has 115 regular season wins.
Below are the quarterbacks that he could pass in 2024 with the exception of Rivers, who I left in as a benchmark.
| Rank | Player | Wins | Seasons Played |
| 9 | Philip Rivers | 134 | 17 |
| T-10 | Matt Ryan | 124 | 15 |
| T-10 | Fran Tarkenton+ | 124 | 18 |
| 12 | Johnny Unitas+ | 118 | 18 |
| T-13 | Eli Manning | 117 | 16 |
| T-13 | Joe Montana+ | 117 | 16 |
| 15 | Russell Wilson* | 115 | 12 |
* Still Active
+ Hall Of Fame
Wilson is averaging 9.6 wins per season. Maintaining his pace would leave him right on the cusp of passing three Hall of Famers and catapulting himself into the top 10. The Steelers had 10 last season, but it will be difficult to get back to that mark. Nine wins would still get him into the top 10, but in a three-way tie.
Sacks Taken
For all those great stats above, here is an unfortunate one. Wilson has a solid chance of becoming the most-sacked quarterback of all time this season.
Wilson has 527 sacks taken in his career in the regular season.
Below are the quarterbacks that he could pass in 2024.
| Rank | Player | Sacks Taken | Seasons played |
| 1 | Fran Tarkenton+ | 570 | 18 |
| 2 | Tom Brady | 565 | 23 |
| 3 | Ben Roethlisberger | 554 | 18 |
| 4 | Aaron Rodgers* | 531 | 19 |
| 5 | Russell Wilson* | 527 | 12 |
* Still Active
+ Hall Of Fame
Wilson has taken 43.9 sacks per season throughout his career. If he maintains his pace, he will either tie Tarkenton for the all-time lead or take sole possession of it. Aaron Rodgers is also in the mix, but I don’t know if the 40-year-old could survive that type of punishment to keep pace. Lord help him if he does.
