Russell Wilson got paid. The Seattle Seahawks superstar got the deal he was looking for, as the team gave him an extension that made him the highest-paid player in NFL history. Now he'll have to live up to his end of the bargain, and expectations will be high in 2019 with the massive contract.
The Seahawks quietly underwent a ton of change this offseason. Doug Baldwin was forced to retire due to injuries, and the team traded away last year's best defensive player in Frank Clark. Part of the reason they traded Clark was that they couldn't afford to pay both Wilson and the pass-rusher, which adds even more pressure on Wilson.
The Seahawks made the playoffs last year but got bounced in the first round. A lot of their success last year was due to their surprisingly strong running game, which in turn led to a great play action attack. To that end, Pro Football Focus shared an interesting stat recently that shows just how good Wilson was on play action last year:
On throws with play action – Russell Wilson had the league's third-highest passer rating last year pic.twitter.com/TRZC8iUWvT
— PFF (@PFF) May 13, 2019
Wilson was the league's third-highest rated passer on play-action throws last year, with a passer rating of 124.6. That's a huge number, and to replicate that, Wilson will again need help from his offensive line and running game.
In fact, a lot will depend on Seattle's running game next year. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer caught a lot of flak for running an outdated offense last year that often got too run-happy. It worked for a while because the Seahawks' running game was so good, but if their rushing attack falls off at all next year, they'll be in big trouble. It'll trickle down to the play action game, and could complicate things for Wilson.
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