Following the Seahawks' third set of Organized Team Activities (OTAs) on Friday, Russell Wilson stepped to the microphone to meet with reporters and began by cracking a joke at Pete Carroll's expense.
"Coach Carroll took so long," Wilson said with a smile of his head coach's 17-minute media session that had just wrapped up. "I may miss Sienna's first steps."
Sienna, of course, being the Seahawks quarterback's daughter who was born April 28, when Wilson and his wife Ciara announced the birth of their first child together through a pair of synced-up social media posts.Â
"It's pretty cool," Wilson said of fatherhood. "Obviously she's growing up fast and it's a blessing. When you see a baby, like life, it's a pretty cool miracle. So Ciara and I are very, very grateful."
Helping take care of a little one isn't new to Wilson — Ciara has a 3-year-old son from a previous relationship — but adding a newborn to the mix has given new meaning to his 'No Time To Sleep' mantra.
"A little bit less sleep, which I don't get much sleep anyway, right?" Wilson said of how the baby has changed things. "But it's been really good actually. To be able to come home and see little man and also see the new one too as well — see little Future and see Sienna — it's really cool just to be around them both. He's such a good brother and to be able to see Sienna as well and just see how she grows every day and changes every day when you come home. You've been at work since 5:30 in the morning and you come home midday and there's something different. It's a really cool experience."
Wilson said that adding a baby to the mix has helped shape his perspective on football.
"It continues to grow my perspective," he said. "I wouldn't say change it, it just grows it. I think more than anything when you see family and have your own family and it continues to grow it's a special thing. I don't just play for obviously my family I had before, but also my new family and just playing for the little ones and playing for Ciara too, and playing for my teammates, trying to do everything I can just to be the best that I possibly can be.
"I'm just truly grateful every day. I get to come home and it puts a smile on my face every time."
Becoming a new dad isn't the only change Wilson has undergone this offseason. When it comes to football, Wilson said he has fine-tuned the steps he takes to better himself on the field. He hired a full-time physical therapist to help take care of his body, continued to work six days a week with a private trainer, and has continued to keep close tabs on his nutrition.
"I'm only 28 years old," Wilson said. "I want to play another 10 to 15 years at least, so for me mentally you have to start taking those things into consideration and so I've been doing that this whole offseason. Really kind of been doing it my whole career, but really intensifying it now. It's time to go. It's time to help our team be the best in the world. I'm trying to do everything I can to do my part and also help others too as well."
Last year, Wilson played through significant ankle and knee injuries that limited his normally elusive and explosive mobility. But through three OTAs, Wilson said, "I feel great. My body's 100 percent. I'm running fast, feeling strong, throwing the ball well and all that," later adding, "I feel super young right now and that's a great thing. I feel really, really young. I feel like I'm just getting started."
And despite Wilson poking fun at his head coach for potentially forcing him to miss one of Sienna's milestone moments, Carroll had nothing but positive remarks when it comes to what he's seen in 2017 from his starting quarterback.
"He set his sights on putting together an incredible offseason and he's done it," Carroll said. "He's worked religiously at his workouts, his conditioning, his arm strength is as good as I've ever seen it. He's as tuned in and focused about doing everything he can. He's working like crazy out here when he gets his chances, he's leading like he does.
"I think he's ready to put together a heck of a year. There's no signs at all about his ankle or his knee that bothered him last year. He looks great running around. He's at top speed."
Added Wilson: "It's been a special start to the season so far. We've got a long ways to go and we want to keep going."
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The Seahawks held their third of seven Organized Team Activities (OTAs) on Friday, June 2 at Renton's Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
