3 reasons the Falcons must sign Russell Wilson

3. Wilson has something to prove

With all of that considered, there's still one major question about Wilson: How does he break out of the slump he's been in for the last two seasons?

Well, as much as we love to break down the X's and O's of this game, Wilson's issues have had more to do with himself, and his relationships with the people around him in both Seattle and Denver, and they go back several years.

In Seattle, he was set up to lead a dynasty, backed up by an all-time great running back and one of the best defenses the sport has ever seen. Then it all fell apart. He threw a goal-line interception against New England in what would've been the Seahawks' second Super Bowl win in a row. The franchise was never the same, and they would never reach those heights again. As the years went on, former teammates developed a habit of going on podcasts and radio shows to throw shade at him, and the public image of Wilson shifted to paint him as a coddled player who couldn't own up to his own mistakes.

Then in Denver, Wilson clearly overcorrected. He didn't gel with Sean Payton, and he failed to connect with his teammates at the level a successful quarterback needs to. On the field, he tried to do too much, resulting in mistakes and inconsistent offensive production. In every facet of his football life, Wilson was forcing things on Mile High.

Wherever this last stop may be, it's Wilson's last chance to resurrect his legacy. If he's successful, he'll be known as a great quarterback who weathered a slump on the way to a magnificent final act. If he fails, all of his early-career achievements are thrown into question, and he becomes the guy who was carried by Marshawn Lynch and the Legion of Boom.

If Wilson is self-aware at all, he knows how important this last stop of his career will be. He'll drop the corny catchphrases and the phonier facets of his attempts at leadership, and he'll just go out there and play ball while leading by example.

In Atlanta, he'd certainly have a better relationship with Offensive Coordinator Zac Robinson than he did with the notoriously strong-willed Sean Payton, and it helps that Robinson's offense asks the quarterback to do less on his own than Payton's.

Wilson is in legacy-saving mode here in the last few years of his career. There's a good chance that next season, he's the best teammate and the most coachable player he's ever been. If that's the case, he could elevate the Falcons into the playoffs for the next few seasons, and give Terry Fontenot plenty of breathing room to find and develop the quarterback of the futu