Getty The Seahawks will face Russell Wilson's Broncos in Week 1.
Russell Wilson will once again begin the NFL season in the Pacific Northwest, but this time he will be in the visitor’s locker room when the Seattle Seahawks square off against the Denver Broncos. The Seahawks will face their longtime franchise quarterback in Week 1 on “Monday Night Football,” per Altitude TV’s Vic Lombardi.
The news is expected to become official when the NFL reveals the full schedule at 8 p.m. Eastern on May 12. The game will likely take place on September 12, 2022 with new “Monday Night Football” announcers Troy Aikman and Joe Buck, who previously called Fox’s marquee game of the week together.
Seahawks fans will not have to wait long to see Wilson play again, but the big question is who will be the Seahawks QB1 when the season begins. Despite plenty of trade rumors, the Seahawks continue to express their faith in both Drew Lock and Geno Smith. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll indicated that Smith will head into training camp with the advantage.
“The [competition] is underway,” Carroll noted during an April 30, 2022 press conference. “Geno’s come in obviously ahead going in, because he’s had all the background with us. He’s been here for a number of years, and so he leads the charge right now, in command of our system as much as you know a guy could be. And you see Jake [Eason] had a year with us, so he’s doing his part. And meanwhile, we’re watching how Drew [Lock] comes along and he’s going. He’s busting his tail to catch up and be right with it.”
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Wilson & the Seahawks Have Disputing Accounts on the Trade
There continues to be a debate about who initiated the blockbuster trade with both the Seahawks and Wilson pointing the finger at the other party. Seattle pointed to the idea that Wilson was not planning on signing another deal with the Seahawks as a contributing factor to pulling the trigger on the deal. During his introductory Broncos press conference, Wilson disputed the claim that he pushed for a trade, instead emphasizing that it was “definitely mutual.”
“Yeah, I didn’t initiate it, it was definitely mutual along the way,” Wilson responded during his March 16 press conference. “There’s definitely been a lot of conversations. This hasn’t been I initiated anything, but it [the Seahawks statement] is what it is.
“I’m excited, I’m happy to be here, that’s all I know. Obviously, I’m happy about the 10 years I’ve had, but I think that we’ll have to read about it later. We’ll have some fun maybe in my book one day. We’ll have some good stories.”
Lock on Seahawks QB1 Job: ‘Nothing Has Been Promised’
Starting to plug some gaps… #Seahawks will open against Russell Wilson and Broncos on MNF.
Even if Wilson was angling for a trade, it is fair to say that by the end of his tenure the franchise was also ready to move in a different direction. Smith may be the early favorite to be the Seahawks next quarterback, but Lock winning the job ahead of Week 1 would make for a great made-for-TV night with both QB1s facing their former teams. Lock admitted that nothing was promised to him after the trade, but the quarterback has his sights set on the starting gig.
“Nothing has been promised, as I would want,” Lock said during a March 21 press conference. “I’d want them to come in here and tell me I need to earn it. Tell me I need to come here and work. Tell me I need to come in and compete. I need to play well.
“There’s a lot of things that I need to do to show this organization that I should be the one taking those snaps, but right now nothing is promised. It’s just my job to come in and work extremely hard to compete for that starting job.”