Russell Wilson is joining CBS’s NFL Today as a studio analyst for the 2026 season. The Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, Denver Broncos, and Seattle Seahawks alumnus is finally letting his career arc take him to the broadcast desk. And in classic Russell Wilson fashion, he has not officially retired from the NFL yet.
Multiple reports have confirmed that Wilson signed a deal with CBS to replace Matt Ryan, who left the broadcast team to take a front office job with the Falcons. Wilson will join James Brown, Bill Cowher, and Nate Burleson on Sunday mornings. Former Bears offensive lineman Kyle Long is also joining the show as an analyst.
Wilson is going to be 38 in November. He spent the 2025 season with the Giants playing backup to Jaxson Dart. The Giants released him in March. No team has called. The CBS opportunity came along, and Wilson took it.
What is wild about this is Wilson has not actually announced his retirement. He told ESPN earlier this week that he is taking the CBS job because it is the right opportunity, but he is leaving the door cracked open if a team calls him during the season. Translation: Russell Wilson, future Hall of Famer, is taking the studio job in case a Week 6 backup quarterback gets hurt somewhere.
That is honestly the most Russell Wilson thing he has ever done. The man’s NFL career deserves more closure than “well, if the Lions need a backup, I’m available.” He is a nine-time Pro Bowler, a Super Bowl champion, and one of the most successful quarterbacks of his generation. He gets to retire on his own terms. The decision is to just not really make the decision.
The CBS hire makes sense for both sides. CBS lost Matt Ryan to the Falcons front office. The network needed a former QB with name recognition and a willingness to talk about the modern game. Wilson is one of the most camera-ready athletes of his generation. He’s been in commercials since he was 23. The transition to TV should be smooth.
What this means for Wilson’s legacy is the closure happens slowly. He is going to spend the 2026 season on Sundays talking about the game instead of playing it. If he is good on camera, he stays on TV permanently. If he is not, he comes back as a coach somewhere. Either way, this is the soft landing the NFL gives quarterbacks who have lasted long enough to choose how the ending goes.
The bigger question is what this means for CBS. The NFL Today is the longest-running pregame show in network television history. The crew of James Brown, Bill Cowher, Boomer Esiason, Phil Simms, and Nate Burleson has been one of the most stable in broadcasting. Adding Wilson and Long is the network’s bet on getting younger and more modern without losing institutional gravitas.
If Wilson can be good on TV, this works. He has the personality. He has the football intelligence. He has the relationships across the league. The only question is whether he can shake off the corporate Russell Wilson version of himself long enough to actually say something interesting on camera.
That is the version of Russell Wilson CBS is hoping for. The one who has spent the past five years carefully avoiding controversy is not going to make for great television. The version who has plenty of opinions about Pete Carroll, Sean Payton, and Nathaniel Hackett is the one that gets ratings.
The NFL Today returns in September. Russell Wilson finally has a new team.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
