Russell Wilson was officially introduced as the new starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos on March 16. He’s already done a lot of legwork to earn the adoration and respect of his new city.
The Russell Wilson era officially began in Denver when the former Seattle Seahawks star QB was introduced to Broncos Country after a blockbuster trade was made official at the start of the new league year March 16.
Wilson, with his entire family in tow, arrived at the UCHealth Training Center looking every bit as advertised: extremely well prepared, knowledgeable, humble, optimistic, charming, charismatic, brilliant, polished, excited— there are countless adjectives you could use to describe what we saw in his introductory press conference.
He looked great, too— perfectly color coordinated to match the Denver Broncos color scheme. He sounded great, too.
Wilson looked and acted like he was giving a start-up pitch to a room full of investors. And, in some respects, he was doing just that.
This Denver coaching staff and front office made a huge investment in Russell Wilson being the guy to put the Broncos back into contention for championships.
The former third-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft showed us how aware he is of this fact and made some massive preparations before this big day to kick off a new era in his life and the Broncos organization.
Day 1 in Denver! Inspired by the courage these amazing kids have! @Ciara & I had a blast today! @ChildrensColo 🧡💙 Broncos Country… #LetsRide pic.twitter.com/Lw2sYhTrLG
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) March 16, 2022
Wilson said he called up Broncos legend Peyton Manning for some advice. He asked Manning about the schools in the Denver area, the organization itself, and how he handled making the post-Super Bowl transition from Indianapolis to the Mile High City.
It also came to light, thanks to Lindsay Jones of The Athletic, that Wilson put in a ton of hours watching game film before the trade went through.
Jones reported that Wilson watched “all 17 of the Broncos’ 2021 games two or three times in the past 10 days.” That process started while he was on vacation with his wife, Ciara, which makes that situation even more surreal.
Finally, Wilson published a glossy video of him and his wife visiting the Colorado Children’s Hospital before being officially introduced to the Denver Broncos (see above tweet from Wilson).
The Super Bowl-winning quarterback went around visiting with sick children and their families to help brighten their days right before one of the biggest days in his career— that should tell you what kind of person he is.
And it’s not just for show. Yes, he documented the visit, but Wilson does this sort of thing on the regular without cameras.
Ever since he entered the NFL in 2012, Wilson has spent every Tuesday during the regular season visiting kids at Seattle Children’s Hospital. He hardly ever missed a visit, even during the pandemic— at which time he would hop on a video call and check in on the kids. He does all those visits without a camera documenting his visit most of the time.
Russell Wilson is in rarefied air when it comes to the community, playing football and being an all-around great person. The Denver Broncos are already in love with their new QB.