Getty The Seahawks fielded multiple trade offers for Russell Wilson.
Russell Wilson shared his first thoughts about the Seattle Seahawks hosting the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football to start the 2022 season on September 12. Wilson described Seattle as a “special place” but emphasized that he plans to make the game “non-emotional.”
“I think it’s going to be an exciting time,” Wilson stated during a May 23, 2022 press conference. “Obviously, Seattle’s meant the world to me over the past 10 years. It’s a special place, a special place to play, Lumen Field. I have [a] high regard for all those guys over there and what they do. I think for me it’s non-emotional though. It’s gotta be non-emotional. You got to be able to go into it with understanding that it’s just ball, and also understand that there’s been amazing times. I’ve thrown a lot of touchdowns there. I’ve won a lot of games there, so I got great experience.”
Similar statements are sure to be made by Seahawks coaches and players prior to kickoff but deep down both sides know it is more than another game on the schedule. Wilson will not only be making his Broncos debut, but the quarterback will be doing so from the visitors locker room at Lumen Field. The Seahawks legend will be in a familiar environment while wearing a new uniform and throwing to unfamiliar teammates.
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Wilson on Seattle: ‘It’ll Always Be a Special Place in My Heart Forever’
We love the Russell Wilson to Courtland Sutton connection 🙌
(🎥 @Broncos)
Seahawks fans know that Wilson’s goal in every game is to “stay neutral,” so it is no surprise that the quarterback is trying to give off similar vibes ahead of the Week 1 showdown. Wilson outlined a similar strategy for his 10 years as the Seahawks franchise quarterback. The new Broncos signal-caller shared a familiar story of envisioning a fan high up in the stands that is seeing him play for the first time.
“What I think about every time I go into a stadium, what I actually think about, is there’s one kid in the stadium, boy or girl, that’s sitting maybe in the 300 seats,” Wilson added. “That may be the last time they get to see you and that’s what the game’s about for me. The game’s about just being able to glorify God, to be able to do what I love to do and also to be able to put on the show every time you step on the field, no matter where it is.
“I don’t care if it’s in the park. I don’t care if it’s in the parking lot. I don’t care if it’s right here behind us, or a beautiful stadium like Lumen Field in Seattle. It’ll be a special place. It’ll always be a special place in my heart forever, and for me, it’s about going out there and trying to play the best football for our football team here and going to try to go win.”
Carroll on Wilson’s Return: ‘It’ll Be Kind of a Classic’
Geno Smith and Drew Lock taking turns throwing to receivers
The Seahawks have been mostly quiet about facing Wilson for the first time. During the Annual League Meeting, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll was asked about Wilson’s return but the date had not yet been released. Carroll described the upcoming Broncos-Seahawks game as a “nice, little matchup.”
“It’ll be kind of a classic,” Carroll said during a March 29 media session. “It’ll be a nice little matchup.”
Despite more than a year of rumors, DK Metcalf admitted that the Seahawks offseason moves with Wilson and Bobby Wagner took him by surprise. Metcalf noted he would have “bet my game check” that Wilson would still be the Seahawks QB1 in 2022.
“Never thought that a day in my life, if you would have told me that during the season, I probably would have been like, ‘Man, I bet my game check that they’re gonna be here next year,’” Metcalf explained during a May 2 interview on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast. “And I mean, it caught me off guard just like [it] caught everybody else. I knew I would say probably an hour before the media knew [about the Wilson trade], because the Seahawks called me and told me. Then Russ called me and with Bobby, the same thing, I knew an hour before the media knew, because we got a pretty close relationship, and he told me. But no, I didn’t see that happening.”