With Russell Wilson being on the cover story of Essence Magazine with a full photo shoot and interview, members of the media have reacted and given their takes on the story. On the last episode of Nightcap with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson, Sharpe took issue with some of what Wilson said about opening doors for black quarterbacks.
Wilson subsequently reacted to his reaction, and on Sunday evening, Sharpe reacted to Wilson’s response. Yes, we have reached the summit of the offseason.
Sharpe ultimately says he wants Wilson to succeed, but not against the Ravens.
“I wish him the best in Pittsburgh, except when they play the Ravens, and if they play the Broncos,” Sharpe said in their video posted on YouTube. “I want the Ravens to beat the brakes off them twice. And if they play the Broncos, I want the Broncos to win.”
Sharpe played for the Denver Broncos for the majority of his career from 1990 to 1999, and then again from 2002 to 2003. He only spent two years in Baltimore, but that seemed to leave an impression of what the AFC North is all about.
“Steelers was my favorite team growing up. Unfortunately, that had to change once I got drafted,” Sharpe said. “We hated the Steelers, and we still do. Some things never change.”
The Steelers were a physical team. The defense that would have been matched up against Sharpe at the time was Aaron Smith, Kimo von Oelhoffen, Jason Gildon, Levon Kirkland, and Joey Porter. And with a personality like Hines Ward on the offense, delivering punishing blows with a big smile on his face. Everything that AFC North football is known for.
Johnson chimed in as well with a similar, but less aggressive sentiment about Wilson losing to the Cincinnati Bengals.
“I want him to have a good game, but I don’t want him to beat the Bengals,” Johnson said. “I’m telling you, you’re gonna have a good year, I’m telling you. But when you play the Bengals, you can have a great game as long as the result of the game is the Bengals winning.”
The Steelers will play all three teams. The annual two games each against the Ravens and Bengals, and then the Steelers will travel to the Broncos at some point during the season. The game in Denver will be particularly interesting. It would make for great television on prime time of Week 1.
The Broncos will be out to prove that moving on from Wilson was the correct decision, and Wilson will be looking to prove them wrong.
