LATROBE, Pa. — After a training camp practice Wednesday, Pittsburgh quarterback Russell Wilson went to sign some autographs as fans roared their approval.
Wilson looked to be done, but the crowd kept yelling. So, he returned to sign some more.
Wilson left again, and the fans continued to call for more. So, Wilson did another autograph encore.
It was clear the former Broncos quarterback is enjoying being with his new team.
“It’s going great,’’ he said in an interview with The Denver Gazette following the practice at Saint Vincent College. “What an amazing environment with the great people and players and everything else. … The black-and-gold (fan base) is definitely very real. They travel amazingly. Ever since signing here, it’s just been a blessing to be here just because they love ball. The fans are just energetic everywhere you go. You’ll see black-and-gold jerseys everywhere.”
Wilson, 35, is with his third NFL team, having spent his first 10 seasons with Seattle, which included leading the Seahawks to two Super Bowls, one a victory. Then he spent two trying seasons with Denver, having signed a five-year, $245 million contract extension shortly before he played his first game for the Broncos in September 2022.
Denver gave up a bevy of players and draft picks to acquire Wilson from the Seahawks before moving on from him. He had a disastrous 2022 season. Even though he was a good bit better in 2023, the Broncos released him last March, taking an $85 million cap hit they spread over two seasons.
“My first year there was unfortunate. I was playing, but I wasn’t fully myself,” said Wilson, who has said a shoulder injury hampered him in 2022. “I was playing through injury and all that. It’s part of the game. And I think last year, I felt like me again. … The best thing about Denver is I made a lot of great friends, a lot of great teammates and I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful for the trial, too, the test of it all. And I feel stronger, even better mentally.”
The Broncos benched Wilson with two games left last season and released him March 13 after he had declined to push back a clause in his contract that would have guaranteed him $37 million for 2025 had he remained on the roster past March 17. Still, his $39 million salary for 2024 was guaranteed, so the Steelers in March needed only to sign him to a one-year deal for the minimum of $1.21 million.
Wilson was asked if it was unfair having been released by the Broncos after seasons in which they went 5-12 in 2022 under Nathaniel Hackett and interim coach Jerry Rosburg and 8-9 in Sean Payton’s first season of 2023.
“God has a mysterious way of working things out,’’ he said. “I just think I’m right where my feet are and that’s what I’m grateful for. … I love winning and we didn’t win enough (in Denver). But the good thing is (Steelers coach Mike) Tomlin knows how to win. I think that we’ve both been through a lot of winning moments and challenges and journeys. This is a great football team. I’m just glad to be here.”
In 15 games in 2022, Wilson threw for 3,524 yards with 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and had a career-low passer rating of 84.4. In 15 games last season, he threw for 3,070 yards with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions and upped his passer rating to 98.0. But it never seemed he fully meshed with Payton.
“I thought we did,’’ Wilson said. “We met a lot during the season and had tons of late-night meetings and I guess things change every once in a while. But the great thing is I felt like I played great. I felt that I played well throughout the season. I felt like I started to get back to fully me again.”
Wilson was asked if Payton offered much in the way of a goodbye when he was informed of his release.
“I think that it was just more of, ‘We’re going to let you go and move on in a different direction,’’’ Wilson said. “I said, ‘Thanks for the opportunity,’ and that’s really it.”
Now, Wilson is playing for Tomlin, who has never had a losing record in 17 seasons as Pittsburgh’s coach and has led the Steelers to two Super Bowls, winning one.
“This guy (Wilson) has been in this league a long time and his reputation precedes him in terms of his relationship with the game, his leadership skills, his willingness to work," Tomlin said Wednesday about the 13-year veteran who made nine Pro Bowls for Seattle. “All those things have been confirmed for me. It’s a pleasure to work with him day-to-day. He’s a football lover and a football junkie, and it’s an asset to him and to us.”
Wilson missed time early in training camp with a calf injury but has been working his way back. He is battling recently acquired Justin Fields for the starting job, but Tomlin has said Wilson is in the “pole position" to win it. Wilson welcomes the competition, saying the two are “just learning every day and getting better every day.”
In Wednesday’s practice, Wilson had a nifty touchdown pass to George Pickens in the left corner of the end zone. He expressed his enthusiasm after the play, including pointing a finger at Pickens.
“(Wilson) brings energy every day and we’re excited to have him,’’ said Steelers running back Jaylen Warren. “You know when he’s out there and when he’s not. You know he has that contagious energy everywhere he goes.’’
After Wilson’s Denver tenure was cut short, Pittsburgh running back Jonathan Ward believes he has something to prove.
“He still has that dawg in him,’’ said Ward, who spent 2020 and 2021 with Arizona when Wilson’s Seahawks were a big rival in the NFC West. “He’s got a chip on his shoulder. He wants to prove people wrong.”
Meanwhile, Steelers fans are eagerly waiting to see how Wilson does. There was a smattering of No. 3 Wilson’s jerseys in the stands at Wednesday’s practice, but it must be said there is plenty of competition when it comes to fan apparel. Jersey numbers being worn included those of current Pittsburgh stars T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward and Najee Harris and those of past stars Franco Harris, Jerome Bettis and Jack Lambert.
James Murray, 28, of Cheswick, Pa., showed up Wednesday with two Wilson No. 3 jerseys he bought for $120 apiece. He wore one with “Wilson” on the back and carried another he had hoped for the quarterback to autograph. It read on the back “Mr. Unlimited,’’ one of Wilson’s nicknames.
“I’m excited for him,’’ Murray said of Wilson. “He’s been putting in the work and he’s a good leader. He was very good with Seattle before things fell off in Denver. But I think he’s looking good now.”
Pat Carothers, 49, arrived at Wednesday’s workout wearing a Wilson No. 3 jersey. It was a gift for his July 2 birthday from daughter Charlotte, 14, and sons Owen, 12, and James, 10.
“It’s the hip jersey for this season,’’ Carothers said. “Maybe he’ll be here for only one season, but to have a jersey of a future Hall of Famer, it’s pretty cool to have him come to town.”
Carothers, a lawyer, attended Super Bowl XLVIII in February 2014 in East Rutherford, N.J., when Wilson’s Seahawks crushed the Broncos 43-8. He often travels to Steelers road games and plans to be on hand when Wilson returns to Denver for a Week 2 game Sept. 15.
“I think he’ll be booed,’’ Carothers said. “He wasn’t there long enough to endear himself to the fans.”
Wilson was asked if he believes he will be cheered or booed when he returns to Empower Field at Mile High.
“I don’t know,’’ he said. “I try to give my heart every day and that’s just what you do.”
While Wilson doesn’t deny there were some rough patches in Denver, he appreciated many of the people he met during his time there.
“I got to meet some amazing teammates, guys like Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, guys like Javonte Williams, Quinn Meinerz, Garett Bolles,” Wilson said. “Those are all guys that I became super close with. And to see a guy like Alex Singleton (do well), a guy I knew really well back when he was a young guy trying to make it in Seattle (as a rookie in 2015). There are so many others. … I’m just grateful for people like that and the journey.”
One thing that hasn’t changed for Wilson in Pittsburgh is his desire to play 20 NFL seasons. He talked about that regularly when he was with the Broncos.
“For sure,’’ he said. “I got a lot more left in the tank.”
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