Seahawks’ Russell Wilson cleared to return from injury, expects to play vs. Packers

Although there have been no matchups between Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes in the two quarterbacks’ careers — injury and COVID-19 have seen to that — there have been a number of instances of Rodgers facing off with another prominent NFL quarterback: Russell Wilson. The two quarterbacks have faced off eight times since Wilson entered the NFL in 2012, with six regular season contests and two postseason meetings.

Now, with the Green Bay Packers set to host the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon in week 10, there is at least a chance that the two quarterbacks will both be on the field and in action for a ninth time. On Monday, the Seahawks announced that Wilson has received full clearance to return to full football activities after suffering a finger injury several weeks ago.

Wilson sat out the Seahawks’ last three games on injured reserve as backup Geno Smith took over. Seattle went 1-2 in those games, losing 23-20 to the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime and 13-10 to the New Orleans Saints before beating the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-7.

In his five starts this season, Wilson has been one of the NFL’s most efficient quarterbacks. He leads the league in passer rating (125.3), yards per attempt (9.6), and yards per completion (13.3). He also has thrown ten touchdowns against just one interception. However, he also took 13 sacks in those five games, good for a 9.4% sack rate. However, the Seahawks went just 2-3 in those games bringing them into Green Bay at 3-5 overall.

With Wilson now expected to be active, the question shifts to Rodgers, who sat out Green Bay’s 13-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs due to the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols. Rodgers will be eligible to return to the team on Saturday, just in time for the game, provided he passes the protocols, which include negative tests and a lack of COVID-related symptoms.

If Rodgers is activated in time, he will try to help the Packers break the stalemate with Seattle over the last decade. Notably, the home team has won each of these last eight meetings in the series, with Seattle taking games in 2012, 2014, and 2018, as well as the NFC Championship Game following the 2014 season. Green Bay won three straight regular season games in 2015, 2016, and 2017, as well as a 2019 Divisional Playoff game.