After a tumultuous two years in Denver and toxic relationship with head coach Sean Payton in 2023, Russell Wilson is glad to be in the Black and Gold. Wilson inked his one-year deal at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex Friday morning, officially becoming a member of the club.
Shortly after signing on the dotted line, Wilson met with the media to discuss why he chose Pittsburgh and the process of landing in the Steel City.
“(Denver) allowed me to be able to speak to teams and have that process and go through that process the first time I’ve ever gone through that process,” Wilson said during his introductory press conference. “It kind of feels like you’re at the (NFL) Combine almost all over again. Almost in a way. You’re kind of going through this interview process with people and getting to meet people.”
Wilson also reflected on his two career games against the Steelers, both of which were wins in 2015 and 2019, respectively. Wilson threw five touchdown passes in the 2015 win. Three of the touchdowns came in the fourth quarter.
“I think that there’s a few things that just jumped off the board about the Pittsburgh Steelers. Number one, I got to play here. I played actually in Seattle, in CenturyLink, in 2015. It was a great game back-and-forth. It was just a battle all the way down to the wire. I just remember the players that they had, and just the competitors that we had at the time. And coming here in (2019), playing here, just the atmosphere. Walking into the stadium, walking into Acrisure Stadium and just the energy. I remember the towels. I remember ‘Renegade.’ I remember the whole thing. And I remember the game coming down in the fourth quarter.”
In addition, Russell Wilson revealed during his introductory press conference that Cam Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick recruited him to come to Pittsburgh. Mike Tomlin was also an advocate for bringing Wilson to the Steelers. Wilson went out to dinner on Thursday night with Cam, Connor Heyward, Pat Freiermuth, James Harrison and Charlie Batch.
Wilson looks forward to hit the ground running with his new team and city.
“I got to come here and actually put my feet on the ground in the city, and I got to go around the city and just see the energy of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the fans. Go by the stadium. And just all of that was a big part of it for me,” Wilson said.