What’s Seahawks’ Russell Wilson thankful for? A most basic human quality amid our pandemic
Russell Wilson is a $140 million quarterback. He’s a Super Bowl champion. He has everything.
A glamorous wife, Ciara. Three young, vibrant children.
Yet what he’s thankful for, this year in particular, is even more fundamental.
“I’m thankful for health,” the Seahawks’ quarterback said Wednesday.
This week, coach Pete Carroll told his players to basically stay away from anyone except immediate family living in their homes for the Thanksgiving holiday and to “postpone some of the joy that we normally get.”
“Obviously, 2020 has been an extremely, extremely crazy year, with COVID and everything else,” Wilson said. “I’m thankful for the ability to be able to breathe, you know. To have my lungs, and just to be able to do what I get to do. I get to be able to play one of the best games in the world. ...
“I’m thankful just for life, every day. Sometimes, you know, we take things for granted. We take those small moments and opportunities for granted.”
Puts Seattle’s three losses in four games and his 10 turnovers in them into perspective, eh?
His spate of uncharacteristic mistakes and string of losses ended last week. A pivotal home win over Arizona has the Seahawks 7-3 entering Monday night’s game at Philadelphia (3-6-1).
During his turnovers and the losses, the winningest quarterback in NFL history over the first nine seasons of a career (102 regular-season and playoff victories) found his comfort the same place he will spend Thanksgiving.
At home. With his kids.
“Honestly, the best part is, they don’t care if you win or lose,” Wilson said.
“They care — I mean, Future and Sienna (his two oldest children) are like, ‘Yeah! You won!’
“And if I walk in and we didn’t win that game, they are like, ‘Dad, I just want to let you know we love you.’”
That keeps in its proper place Wilson’s need to avoid Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham and an Eagles pass rush that with 34 sacks is second in the NFL only to 10-0 Pittsburgh.
“You know, Sienna (his daughter who turns 4 on Saturday), she’ll just ask me, ‘Can we play?’ you know. ‘Do you want to play right now, Dada?’” Wilson said.
“It’s one of those things that I may still be in my suit and tie and just got home. It’s one of the coolest things, just knowing that my kids have taught me how to be more patient and just really enjoy those moments.”
After Thanksgiving off with them, Wilson will resume practicing Friday and Saturday before he and the Seahawks leave for Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon. Monday night will be his 154th consecutive start to begin his career (139 regular-season games, 15 in the postseason including two Super Bowls). It’s the second-longest active streak in the NFL, behind Philip Rivers’ 238 in a row.
This Eagles game is a reminder of these teams’ last meeting, in January. Jadeveon Clowney knocked Philadelphia quarterback Carson Wentz out of the game with a head injury on a hit in the first half. Josh McCown, 40 years old, entered and tried gallantly to rally the Eagles, but Seattle eventually won 17-9 in an NFC wild-card playoff game.
What was Seahawks All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner thinking when McCown entered for Wentz and tried to rally the Eagles that last meeting?
“That we were going to win the game. That we weren’t going to let somebody who was limping around 40 years old win the game for them,” Wagner said Wednesday.
“That would be kind of like one of you guys (in Seattle’s media) coming out and try to win the game.”
Wentz was on his way to perhaps being the NFL’s most valuable player late in the 2017 season. He had the Eagles at 11-2 on their way to winning the Super Bowl. Then he sustained a season-ending knee injury.
He hasn’t been the same since.
Wentz is 17-19-1 in three seasons since his injury. What’s happened?
He’s thrown a league-high 14 interceptions. He’s lost four fumbles. That’s 18 turnovers in 10 games this season.
He’s been sacked 40 times, the most in the NFL, while playing behind nine starting-lineup combinations on his battered offensive line. He’s taken 58 hits on pass plays, also the most in the league this year.
He’s had next to nobody to target when he does get time to throw. Top wide receiver Alshon Jeffery has been out injured most of the last two seasons. Without him, and with Nelson Agholor gone to Las Vegas, the Eagles have no proven downfield receiving options to threaten the Seahawks’ iffy secondary.
Wentz’s two best targets are tight ends, Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert. They’ve also been hurt. Ertz is still on injured reserve, though Eagles coach Doug Pederson said Wednesday he thinks Ertz will play Monday for the first time since he injured his ankle Oct. 18.
Wentz missed parts of two seasons because of that knee injury and reconstructive surgery three years ago. He missed a Super Bowl because of it. Nick Foles started, won it and was the Super Bowl MVP instead of Wentz in February 2018.
So how has Wilson never missed a practice, let alone a game, in his nine-year career?
“Obviously, this is a very physical game. ....You’ve got to be able to get down,” Wilson said. “You’ve got to be sturdy, too, and be able to handle all that.”
Wilson is a former minor-league middle infielder. He believes his instincts from protecting himself from base runners trying to take him out while turning double plays at second base also helps keep him avoid huge hits from NFL defenders.
“That’s something that I’ve always been super-aware of, obviously, the baseball background and in terms of sliding,” he said. “We were joking (Wednesday), I was talking about turning double plays and just, you’ve got to get your feet up and turn those plays and still flick it over to first base.
“I think I’m also used to contact. I’m a physical player by nature, but just knowing the time and place, you know, to go down and avoiding some big, big shots and big hits.”
When Wilson gets 14 yards passing Monday night, he will join Peyton Manning as the only players in NFL history to record at least 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns passing in each of their first nine seasons. Last week in his bounce-back win with no turnovers against the Cardinals, Wilson joined Drew Brees (nine consecutive seasons) and Brett Favre (five in a row) as the only NFL players with 30 touchdown passes in at least four straight years.
He’s thankful for all that, too.
“I’ve been blessed,” he said.
“I’ve been fortunate.”
This story was originally published November 25, 2020 at 4:33 PM.
