After a dismal offensive season a year ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers cleaned house. They sent first-rounder Kenny Pickett off to Philly and signed veteran quarterback Russell Wilson to be their starter. He exuded confidence when he was asked which games he was most looking forward to.
Confidence is a huge factor in professional sports. Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback Russell Wilson exuded that in a big way over the weekend. Wilson attended Damar Hamlin’s celebrity basketball game at North Allegheny High School and was asked which games he most looked forward to on the Steelers’ schedule.
“All 17 plus three or four,” Wilson said.
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That is what you call “media savvy”. We all know that he can’t wait for Week 2 where he and the Steelers will have a chance to stick it to Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos. Ever since the schedule came out, anyone associated with either team has had that game circled on the calendar.
Wilson, to his credit, didn’t want to name names or give any bulletin board material to his future opposition. This is a smart move on his part. Another smart move for Wilson is accepting his role of mentor to backup quarterback Justin Fields.
The day after Wilson signed his one-year deal to start for Pittsburgh, the Steelers traded for the former No. 11 overall pick. Coach Mike Tomlin says that Wilson is in the “pole position” for the starting job, and will likely start the season under center to start the season. But his veteran leadership has not gone unnoticed.
“It’s been great just learning from him every day,” Fields said. “Just how detailed he is with everything. Just how he works. Everything he does. The way he acts around his teammates. He’s been great. A great teammate to me. A great mentor to me so it is awesome to have a guy like Russell in the room. You get to learn from him and kind of pick his brain on some stuff.”
Wilson will be looking to prove that he is still a top-tier starter when the season opens in early September. That kind of fire and desire will hopefully propel the Steelers to playoff success – something the team hasn’t had since 2009 when the Steelers beat the Cardinals in the Super Bowl.
Get your terrible towels out because it’s going to be an exciting season.
