No matter where former Steelers QB Russell Wilson is, he will feel as though he should have always been there. Now with the New York Giants, he speaks as though fate ordained their much-delayed union. One wonders if, sometime in 2026 or 2027, he will proudly declare, “I’ve always felt like a St. Louis Battlehawk”. The Battlehawks are a team in the United Football League, in case you didn’t know.
Wilson, during an interview on ESPN’s SportsCenter yesterday, talked about his first impressions of New York. He talked about an uncle, who was a New York lawyer. “I always came to New York. I always loved New York City because he was always here. He was just an amazing individual. He always wore a Yankees hat”.
Wilson recalled a game his uncle attended in Chicago to watch him play, and even there, he would not remove his Yankees hat. “I was like, ‘Unc, you’ve got to at least put this Seahawks beanie on or something’”!
And so, Russell Wilson “always loved New York”, and the Yankees, though that isn’t unreasonable. He was once a Yankee himself, after all. But then he rattled off the Giants’ credentials and how it was a privilege and an honor to be there. Two-time Giants Super Bowl champion QB Eli Manning, he mentioned, came in to talk to the players about “what it takes to be a Giant and what that means”.
Wilson is on his third team in as many seasons, and four in five. Having spent most of his career with the Seahawks, the Broncos acquired him via trade in 2022. After two seasons there, they released him, the Steelers signing him for a bargain-basement rate. He chose Pittsburgh over the Giants, in fact.
Yet the Steelers appeared to have no interest in re-signing Russell Wilson, despite having ample opportunity to do so. He had a good run with the team, before it turned south very quickly, and very sharply. Their end of the 2024 season is one of their worst in team history, the Steelers losing their final five games.
That wasn’t all Wilson’s fault by any means, but if the Steelers wanted to re-sign him, he would be here. A year ago, Wilson was in love with being with the Steelers. Now he is in love with the Giants, his current employer. And if he is somewhere else in 2026, he will find another beloved relative who had a connection with that city.
That’s who Russell Wilson is, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, professionally. To many, he comes off as insincere, which is perhaps not unfounded. But if you don’t think the Giants don’t want him to say exactly what he’s saying, you are mistaken. It won’t be until they hit a losing streak that his relentless positivity will grow wearisome.
