Russell Wilson confident he’s found ‘fountain of youth’ with Steelers

NFL

By Christian Arnold

Russell Wilson may be the modern Juan Ponce de León if his words hold true when the NFL season begins in September. 

The 35-year-old quarterback told reporters Tuesday that “I feel the fountain of youth” after his first mandatory minicamp practice with the Steelers, who signed him after his relatively short stint in Denver ended with the Broncos cutting him. 

“I feel revived in every way, mentally, emotionally, spiritually,” Wilson said, according to ESPN. “I feel confident. I think at some point you have to know who you are as a player, as a man, as a competitor. As somebody who’s been fortunate to be able to play this game, I don’t doubt it. I trust it. I felt really good last year playing. I felt really confident in the midst of everything.

“And so I think right now I have all that confidence times 10.”

Wilson played just two years of his five-year, $245 million deal that he signed with the Broncos in 2022 after they made a trade with a Seattle to acquire hime.

Nevertheless, things never quite went according to plan as Wilson struggled in his first year with the team, though he managed to play better in 2023 with 26 touchdowns to eight interceptions, it still wasn’t enough to keep Wilson from being benched late in the season as the Broncos felt out of contention. 

Wilson signed with the Steelers in March, and Pittsburgh added another QB in former 2021 first-round pick Justin Fields, who was traded to the team by the Bears for a conditional sixth-round pick. 

Wilson is leading the pack early on for the starting job, but offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said it would be a competition. 

“Russ is in the pole position,” Smith told reporters. “It’s a competition. Obviously, we get to Latrobe, [Pennsylvania for training camp] I’m sure things will heat up, but both those guys knew that, however, they were acquired, and they got here and I think it’s been pretty transparent.”