Rather than the sweet cotton candy Russell Wilson routinely spins when talking about everything from football to family, he spit nails Thursday to hammer home a point to any fool from Denver to Seattle who doubts his status as a truly elite NFL quarterback.
“I believe in my talent and who I am. I’m one of the best in the world. I don’t worry about anything else,” said Wilson, his body rocking with the competitive passion of a winner itching to not only prove he’s on par with Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers, but also prove the Seahawks dead wrong.
As he prepares to play his first game for the Broncos since arriving from Seattle in a blockbuster trade, the plot has thickened and Wilson’s upper lip has stiffened with resolve to show coach Pete Carroll and the Seahawks they were fools to ever doubt him.
A 33-year-old quarterback who returns to his old stomping grounds for the 2022 season-opener is washed up, if you believe the whispers coming out of the Pacific Northwest. I find it impossible to believe the Seahawks would have traded Wilson if they believed he was a top-five quarterback in the league worth the five-year, $245 million extension recently given him by Denver.
And know what might be more insulting?
Despite the fact Wilson threw nearly 300 regular-season TD passes and led Seattle to a championship during a decade of Pro Bowl caliber work, the Seahawks seriously considered pushing him out the door long before Broncos general manager George Paton came calling earlier this year.
While trying to paint this reunion with the good fans of Seattle as a sweet trip down memory lane, something very close to a snarl protruded from Wilson’s preternaturally sweet demeanor when he acknowledged Seattle explored trading him as far back as 2018.
Does it upset Wilson that the Seahawks considered trading him more than once?
“They tried to (make a trade) a couple times and tried to see what was out there. It’s part of the business and it’s part of being a professional and everything else,” Wilson said. “Upset is probably the wrong word.”
Hey, why waste energy getting mad when the scoreboard is there so you can get even?
While the Seahawks might doubt Wilson, I asked what his level of confidence is that he’s still a truly elite NFL quarterback.
“I think every year, you have to prove that. I think every year you have to go out and show up every day,” Wilson said.
The ultimate statistical measure of a quarterback is his win-loss record. While Wilson’s 66.1 win percentage is impressive, it pales in comparison to the 76.9 success rate produced in regular-season games by Tom Brady.
“You want your career to be a reflection of being one of the best in the world. I think my first 10 years have been a positive reflection. But there’s more to do,” said Wilson, anxious to get the second act of his career started in Denver. “There’s a lot more to do, a lot more I want to do and a lot more we have to do as a team.”
With Wilson wearing blue and orange, the Broncos have returned to the championship conversation for the first time since Peyton Manning retired.
“When you’re in my position, everyone’s trying to get that franchise quarterback. And we have one under contract for seven years,” Paton told me on the day Wilson’s new deal with the Broncos was announced. “It’s tough to compete, especially in our division, if you don’t have that franchise quarterback. There’s very little room for error if you don’t have him.”
The divorce between the Seahawks and Wilson was messy, and more protracted than we originally realized. Yes, I suspect there will be fans at Lumen Field who will boo Wilson. But this is not Carmelo Anthony returning to play the Nuggets in Denver after forcing his way out of town. There is much about this reunion for Wilson and Seattle to celebrate.
“People are going to love you,” Wilson said, “and they are going to hate you sometimes, whatever it may be.”
Wilson firmly believes he can be one of the top quarterbacks on the planet for another decade. Paton bet the Broncos’ future that Wilson is correct.
The Seahawks, on the other hand, think Wilson is living in the past. Is Carroll delusional to believe he can make the playoffs with Geno Smith or Drew Lock as his starting quarterback?
On Monday night, when Denver takes the field in Seattle, we’ll find out if Wilson’s truth can make the Seahawks’ alternative facts look foolish.
