Russell Wilson runs his own 2-minute drill, leads Seahawks teammates pregame at Pittsburgh
Injured reserve didn’t stop Russell Wilson from leading his Seahawks.
Two hours before kickoff of Sunday night’s game at Heinz Field, before any of his teammates were out for early warmups, Russell Wilson was on the field.
He ran a simulated, hurry-up, 2-minute drill. He made play calls on the fly. He dropped back to pass. He rolled out — everything but the throws. All by himself.
A half hour later, Seattle’s franchise quarterback looked antsy standing in the middle of the field watching Geno Smith getting ready to play the Pittsburgh Steelers, instead of him. Wearing a large black wrap over his surgically repaired middle finger on his throwing hand, up past his wrist, Wilson led the quarterbacks and receivers in hugs then a huddle and talk at the end of early pregame warmups.
For full warmups, Wilson jogged onto the field with coach Pete Carroll wearing a team jacket — and the play-call card for the game on his left wrist, as if he was playing. Yet he was what he could only be as a player on injured reserve: a cheerleader and extra coach on the field.
“Everyone is excited for Geno,” general manager John Schneider said Sunday night on the Seahawks’ radio network’s pregame show, “but you’d love to have Russell Wilson, right?”
Right.
For the first time since 2011, Seattle had someone other than Wilson starting at quarterback. Smith, the 31-year-old former starring quarterback with the New York Jets, started Sunday night for the first time in 1,414 days. His last start had been Dec. 3, 2017, for the Giants at Oakland.
All this past week, Wilson was at practices going through the initial warmup drills and leading the offensive players through their rousing, daily bag drill, as usual. He did that while holding a ball tucked inside his left elbow and protecting his repaired hand inside a belt-line warmer. He was even throwing passes left handed.
Of course he was.
“Noting surprises me with Russ,” Schneider said on the pregame radio show.
Saturday — officially, per NFL transactions — the Seahawks put Wilson and lead running back Chris Carson on injured reserve. That means they will miss at least three games, the three before Seattle’s bye Nov. 7.
Alex Collins was the lead running back for the second consecutive games for Carson, who has had “inflammation” in his neck, Schneider said on the pregame radio show Sunday.
The soonest Wilson and Carson will be able to play is Nov. 14, when Seattle plays at Green Bay.
“We are just going to give him some time with his neck,” Schneider said on the radio pregame. “He’s got a little inflammation going on. You don’t want to mess with that stuff, ever.”
Collier inactive again
L.J. Collier, the team’s defensive lineman and first-round draft choice from 2019, was a healthy scratch for the fourth time in six games this season.
Robert Nkemdiche, a former first-round pick by Arizona, has surpassed Collier at defensive tackle. Two teams, the Cardinals and Miami Dolphins, have given up on Nkemdiche. He began this season waived by Seattle among the final preseason cuts. Then all 32 NFL teams passed on claiming him before he re-signed onto Seattle’s practice squad.
Collier has played in 29 of a possible 38 games in his Seahawks career. He started all 16 regular-season games last season, with the first three sacks of his career.
The Seahawks’ other inactive players: cornerback John Reid, backup center Dakoda Shepley, offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi, rookie offensive tackle Shane Forsythe and tight end Tyler Mabry.
This story was originally published October 17, 2021 at 5:04 PM.
