Getty Russell Wilson voiced his support for the Seahawks signing Antonio Brown.
With the Antonio Brown rumors heating up, Russell Wilson fielded several questions about his desire for the Seattle Seahawks to land the wide receiver. Wilson discussed his growing relationship with Brown which the Seahawks quarterback noted started “four or five years” ago.
The Seahawks quarterback has found himself under fire for supporting Brown given his off-the-field issues. Wilson admitted he did not know how close the Seahawks are to potentially signing Brown but offered his opinion for why he wants the receiver to get another opportunity.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen with him or not,” Wilson explained at his Week 7 press conference. “I don’t know how serious it is, us getting him or not, but I do know obviously he can play some football. I think that’s the thing, I’ve developed a relationship personally with him. Not everybody is perfect, that’s just the reality, none of us are. Hopefully, he gets to play football again.”
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ESPN’s Adam Schefter Reported the Seahawks Are Expected to ‘Make a Push to Sign’ Brown
Wilson’s comments come after ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Seahawks are likely to “make a push” to sign Brown. The wide receiver is eligible to play again in the NFL beginning in Week 9.
“With Antonio Brown’s suspension eligible to end after Week 8, the Seattle Seahawks are now positioned to make a push to sign him, though they’re not alone, league sources told ESPN,” Schefter noted. “Both of Seattle’s quarterbacks, Russell Wilson and Geno Smith, are friends with Brown, worked out with him during the offseason and have remained in touch with him about the idea of bringing him to Seattle, sources said.”
Wilson Has Reached Out to Some of A.B.’s Former Teammates
Wilson admitted that he has talked with some of Brown’s former teammates to get a sense of how the receiver is in the locker room. The Seahawks quarterback explained that he believes Brown is a good teammate with the exception of a “bad year or two” when the receiver was last in the NFL.
“I think with our culture, I can only speak to us and how our culture is,” Wilson noted. “I think with Coach Carroll, I think with the teammates that we have, the men that we have and the growth. I think that this is a great place, if he does play again. I think this is a place that he’ll grow a lot as a man, as well. I think that we are going to continue to try to help anybody who walks into this locker room, as you guys know. …That’s just part of our culture is trying to help people be along their way.”
The quarterback was asked why the Seahawks would consider potentially disrupting their offense given its success, and Wilson pointed to the Chiefs signing Le’Veon Bell as an example of other contending teams continuing to improve. Wilson’s closing message about Brown was the hope that the receiver could be a great teammate with the Seahawks.
“If he does come here, hopefully, he can be a great teammate with us and for us and be along the way,” Wilson added. “If not, we got a lot of great players. We got some guys that can really make some great plays, too, as well. We’ve been doing it all year. So, it’s been exciting, for sure.”
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