The Pittsburgh Steelers made quite the surprise when they signed Russell Wilson this offseason for pennies on the dollar, and while pads haven’t been put on yet, Wilson seems to be off to a good start with his teammates. The Steelers won last year in spite of their quarterback play, not because of it, and it’s not often a team manages to consistently do that. If they want to be better than what they have been, the Steelers need Wilson at his best. Luckily, he recently said he feels like he’s turned back the clock a little bit, but one former Bengals’ receiver needs to see Wilson put his words into action.
Chad Johnson is a name many Steelers’ fans are familiar with, as he spent years battling against Pittsburgh as a member of the Bengals during the 2000s. Now, Johnson spends his time talking on the Nightcap podcast alongside former tight end Shannon Sharpe. On a recent episode, Sharpe and Johnson spoke about Wilson’s comments about finding the fountain of youth, with Johnson being complimentary of Wilson, but still saying he needs to put all these words into practice.
”I like it. Mentally, as a competitor, spiritually, where I am, the confidence I had, even playing last year amidst all the bullshit that was going on around me, including my head coach yapping in my ear, trying to get a reaction out of me, I still feel confident in what I can do and what I can provide,’” Johnson said on what he believes Wilson’s thoughts are. “Now all I need is the message and the translation of the message to be the same on the field and between the lines. I need the talk to match the walk, and I’m good. Russell Wilson all day.”
What Johnson is referring to is Wilson’s previous season he spent with the Denver Broncos, where it seemed he did not have a positive relationship with head coach Sean Payton. However, his level of play wasn’t awful, as he actually had the Broncos winning games before he was benched due to financial reasons. Johnson is impressed that Wilson still seems to be remaining true to himself, despite all of the negativity surrounding him.
However, Johnson still says he needs to see Wilson actually embody this level of confidence on the field, because it’s one thing to say it during the offseason and another thing entirely to still live that message in the face of adversity. Analysts have doubted Wilson all offseason for reasons like him not being a good fit in Pittsburgh, but the bottom line is that Mike Tomlin and the rest of the team believe in his abilities. That, combined with Wilson knowing this may be his last shot in the NFL, means that he’ll have no choice but to walk the walk. He’ll need to leave it all out on the field. If he doesn’t, his career will more than likely be over.
