If what Russell Wilson says holds true when the NFL season begins in September, he could become a modern-day Juan Ponce de Leon.
The 35-year-old quarterback, who signed with the Steelers on Tuesday after being released by the Broncos after a relatively short tenure in Denver, told reporters after his first mandatory minicamp practice with the team that he “feels like the Fountain of Youth.”
“I feel rejuvenated in every way: mentally, emotionally, spiritually.” “I’m not sure what to do,” Wilson said, according to ESPN.“I’m confident. I think at some point you have to find out who you are as a player, as a person and as a competitor. As someone who’s been fortunate enough to be in the game, I don’t doubt it. I believe it. I thought I played really well last year. I was really confident through it all.”
“So now I think that confidence is tenfold.”
Wilson played just two years of the five-year, $245 million contract he signed with the Broncos in 2022 after the trade with Seattle was completed to acquire him.
Still, Wilson struggled in his first year with the team and things never went according to plan, and although he had a strong showing in 2023 with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions, it wasn’t enough to stop Wilson from being benched in the second half of the season as the Broncos fell out of championship contention.
Wilson signed with the Steelers in March, and Pittsburgh acquired its other quarterback in former 2021 first-round pick Justin Fields, who was traded to the team by the Bears in exchange for a conditional sixth-round pick.
While stretching during the team’s NFL minicamp practice. AP
Wilson has been the early front-runner for the starting spot, but offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said the competition will be fierce.
“Russ is in pole position,” Smith told reporters. “It’s a competition. Of course, we’re going to Latrobe, but [Pennsylvania for training camp] Things were going to get heated, and both guys knew that, but they were bought, they came here, so I think it was pretty transparent.”
