Steelers' Russell Wilson's Spirit Was Looming Over Rookie Minicamp, Drawing Comparisons To Another Wondrous Talent

The Pittsburgh Steelers held their 2024 rookie minicamp over Mother's Day weekend. It is designed to give rookies, first-year players, and veteran tryout players a shot at making the team. The competition is fierce however, and most of those in attendance won't end up making the 53-man roster. Just because most of the seasoned veterans aren't there though, doesn't mean their presence isn't felt. 

None of the Steelers' newly acquired veteran quarterbacks attended the camp, and their spots are as secure as possible. Regardless, Russell Wilson's name was heard, and his presence was felt. According to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic, who attended the three-day event, he was aware of the former Super Bowl winner's impact. 

Kaboly said that ever since the Steelers signed Wilson back in March, he has been a consistent topic of conversation. This is primarily due to his exceptional work ethic. 

"One team source said the Steelers haven't seen somebody work as hard as Wilson at his craft since the early days of Antonio Brown, who was notorious for the effort he put into his game to become the best wide receiver in the league for more than five years."

Kaboly mentioned Wilson's throwing sessions with receivers in California. He has also attended every voluntary workout since mid-April and has been seen around the city at various charity and sporting events. Head Coach Mike Tomlin said this attracted them to Wilson. They value his "quest for greatness." 

Wilson has developed a resume that makes him one of the NFL's most elite quarterbacks. Unfortunately, the past few seasons have tarnished that reputation, and redemption seems part of why he chose Pittsburgh. 

Drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in 2012 in the third round, he has outplayed his draft selection during his 12 seasons in the league. He took the Seahawks to two Super Bowls, winning one. He was named the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year in 2020 and is a nine-time Pro Bowler. During his time in Seattle, he had a record of 104-53-1 over those 10 seasons. 

However, people most recall the past two seasons with the Denver Broncos. Wilson was brought into Denver on a massive $245 million, five-year contract. During the 30 games he played in the Mile High City, he was 11-19-0.

He has completed 3,668 career passes for 43,653 yards and 334 touchdowns. Wilson didn't just hurt teams in the air; he was known for his ability to scramble and pick up extra yards with his feet as well, scoring another 29 rushing touchdowns. 

Denver was willing to pay Wilson nearly $40 million owed on his contract for this year to go away. Clearly, there was bad blood between him and Head Coach Sean Payton. The question is, how much of the issues are related to Wilson? Can he still play at a high level and be a good teammate? 

Steelers' Russell Wilson A Victim Of False Narratives?

The talk about Wilson and Payton should have died down by now, but it hasn't. The Broncos drafted a new quarterback, Bo Nix, and the focus should be on him and his potential. However, a member of the Denver media recently pointed out that it keeps circling back to Wilson, and he thinks he knows why. 

After a story came out that Wilson wasn't intelligent enough to work in Payton's offense, the hosts of The Broncos Country Tonight podcast, Ryan Edwards and Benjamin Allbright, spoke up. They said the claims made about his abilities were ridiculous. Everyone had moved on but one person: Payton. They believe that Payton is the only person who benefits from these kinds of stories coming out.