Russell Wilson had a rocky season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He started off red-hot, but then he cooled quickly. Reports are coming out now that he and Arthur Smith butted heads, which doesn’t help Wilson’s case to continue being a starter. However, he might not have been a total issue in the locker room. Miles Killebrew recently praised Wilson’s attitude.
“He’s probably one of the most positive people you’ve ever met,” Killebrew said Thursday on ESPN Wichita. “I don’t think he’ll say anything negative about anything. I think he uses batteries with two plus signs on them. I’ll tell you right now, you will not get that guy to say anything negative. And positivity is infectious.”
Wilson’s positivity has been a staple of his personality for as long as he’s been in the league. That was clear in Pittsburgh, too. Wilson dealt with some adversity when he suffered an injury in training camp, but he never let that bring him down. He remained upbeat and engaged.
However, that attitude hasn’t always been a good thing. In fact, Wilson has been criticized for his toxic positivity. People have taken that as Wilson putting on a fake persona. While it might come off as corny, Killebrew confirms that Wilson is like that all the time. He does seem to always look on the bright side.
That can be a good and bad thing. Wilson’s positivity is probably great to have when things are going well, but when they aren’t, it’s probably incredibly frustrating. Look at his interaction with Cam Heyward after the Steelers lost their final game of the season. Wilson is clearly trying to reassure Heyward that things will be okay, but it’s probably not the right time to be talking about stuff like that.
It does seem like Wilson is actually that positive. He might not be for everyone, but he did have good leadership in Pittsburgh. Teammates praised him as a leader, and he even did what he could to positively impact the city. No matter what, Wilson made time to visit kids at a local hospital. Say what you will about him, but that’s admirable.
It’s totally unclear if Wilson will return to the Steelers. He wasn’t terrible, but depending on how much money he wants, the Steelers could move on. Art Rooney II made it sound like the team plans on re-signing Wilson or Justin Fields. However, there’s no guarantee either player will return. Wilson’s positivity might make him controversial, but the Steelers have certainly dealt with players with worse attitudes.
