Do you like to get hit? I don’t.
Unfortunately, as the franchise quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks, it kind of comes with the territory. So if you’re Russell Wilson, when you’re not preoccupied with recreating Busta Rhymes music videos or living your best life with your Grammy Award-winning wife, you’re getting hit. A lot.
How much is a lot? ESPN radio announcer Curtis Rogers has a pretty good idea:
Yeah, I’d say that’s a lot—and the Super Bowl XLVIII champion seems to agree.
“Like any player, you never want to get hit,” Wilson told reporters via Zoom. “That’s the reality of playing this position; ask any quarterback who wants to play this game. But at the same time, it’s part of the job and everything else. I think that the reality is that I’ve definitely been hit. I’ve been sacked almost 400 times, so we’ve got to get better. I’ve got to find ways to get better too.”
Asked if he’s frustrated with the Seahawks, he continued: “I’m frustrated [about] getting hit too much. I’m frustrated with that part of it. At the end of the day, you want to win.”
With an influx of impressive talent coming in from the draft, Hall of Famers like Phillip Rivers and (potentially) Drew Brees calling it a career and disgruntled vets like Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff already on the move, this offseason will see more quarterbacks switching teams than ever before.
So taking into account Wilson’s frustrations, is it possible he could join the quarterback carousel?
“I’m not sure if I’m available or not. That’s a Seahawks question,” he told Dan Patrick on Tuesday. “I definitely believe they’ve gotten calls. Any time you’re a player that tries to produce every week and has done it consistently, I think people are gonna call for sure. I think that’s part of the process.”
He continued, “At the end of the day, you want to win. You play this game every day to wake up to win. You play this game to be the best in the world. You know what I hate? I hate sitting there watching other guys play the game.”
Not to stir the pot, but does this sound like somebody who wants to play for the Seahawks next season? Dangeruss has held it down in Seattle for nine years. During which, he brought the city its first championship and has spent most of the rest of that time either being sacked or playing within an offense that completely squanders his mutant powers. So at 32 years old, if he sounds less than enthused about another year of inevitable disappointment in Seattle, can you really blame him? If anything, it sounds like he’s trying to find the best way to make a diplomatic exit.
“Russell Wilson is beyond frustrated. I think Russell Wilson is trying to figure out how to move on in a classy way. That’s what I truly believe.,” former teammate Brandon Marshall said on Fox Sports’ First Things First. “He’s trying to leave the legacy that he did things the right way so other guys can follow that same blueprint. So I think he struggles with how to move on in a classy way, in a way where people can look at him and say you know what, he still did it the right way. Because that’s important for Russ.”
It’s important to note that the eight-time Pro Bowler has an almighty no-trade clause in his contract. So at the end of the day, he wields all the power. But this is something to definitely keep an eye on. Because if Ciara’s baby daddy demands a trade, it could shift the balance of power in the entire league.