Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson met with the media following Wednesday's practice, covering several interesting topics. Here are some of the highlights:
1. Extra work with the rookie.
Having missed the first three weeks of camp while on the physically unable to perform list, rookie receiver D'Wayne Eskridge is playing catch-up, and Wilson is putting in some extra early-morning work with the second-round pick to help expedite that process.
"Every morning we get out here, and we walk on the field at 5:45, 6 o'clock, and me and him just go through plays for 45 minutes to an hour," Wilson said. "There's still dew on the grass, but it's good to go through the plays and really visualize it, to go through everything mentally and focus on it. He's a really smart player, he's as physical as can be. So to see why we drafted him—I knew why—but to be out here with him the first couple of days is really cool to see."
2. Wilson hopes to play Saturday after sitting out the preseason opener.
The Seahawks rested almost all of their starters for their preseason opener in Las Vegas, Wilson included, and while a player of Wilson's experience level and talent would probably be fine without much work in the preseason, he always wants to play and is ready to go Saturday if called upon.
"I'm always hoping to play," he said. "I don't know what's going to happen, it's coach's decision. I'm always ready to play, and obviously being in front of the 12s is always great so we'll see what happens."
Last weekend, Wilson and the rest of the healthy starters who didn't play, went through pregame warmups like they would any other week, but in this case knowing he wouldn't play, Wilson put in some extra work before taking the rest of the night off.
"I always just get mentally prepared to go, in the preseason and everything else," he said. "I do my pregame warmup, I did a little extra after, I'm normally out there for a couple hours pregame. Then I did a little extra with DK (Metcalf) just me and him on the field. I felt like I got my game reps in. We got a bunch of extra reps in, 15 or 20 extra reps. I feel good. Throughout the game I'm always playing a game as if I'm out there. Physically not being out there is one thing but to mentally get the reps is the most important thing to be honest with you. To be there and have the crowd there in Vegas and all that and to hear it all, and feel it all, and get your emotions going. I think to prepare your mind to win; to prepare your mind to play is such a critical part of it all, that's the best part of it. If you can master that part of it, you give yourself a great chance."
3. The new offense is coming along nicely.
The Seahawks are learning a new offense in camp this year with Shane Waldron taking over as offensive coordinator, and while there's still work to do between now and the start of the regular season, Wilson likes the progress he has seen so far.
"I think we're doing a great job," Wilson said. "There's a couple of things we need to tune up here and there, but I think we are going to be excellent on offense. I think we are going to be able to move the ball really well, we have confidence in what we are doing, and Shane and I are on the same page. We have a great sense of what we're trying to do and how we're going to do it. We are trying to put ourselves in the toughest positions possible in certain series and certain plays. It's good reps. Our defense looks great too. We are going to have a really good football team this year, we're excited about it. We are excited about what we are going to do and how we are going to do it. We have to do it together and it's going to be fun. I think Shane is going to be great at it."
4. Whenever he returns to practice, Duane Brown will be ready to go.
Left tackle Duane Brown continues to sit out practice, though he is taking part in walkthroughs and team meetings, and as Wilson put it, he and everyone else would obviously prefer to have Brown back on the field: "You always want your star left tackle out there. We're just trusting the process, hoping that it works out because we definitely need him and that'd be huge for us. He's been one of the best in the game, obviously, but I'm sure it will get figured and worked out. That's what I'm hoping for and wanting."
But a player of Brown's caliber who is in good of shape as he is won't need much time to be game ready whenever he does return to practice.
"Duane is a guy that is probably the most physically fit guy on our team," Wilson said. "He's so athletic, he used to play tight end in high school. He's a really athletic player; he can really run, he gets out of his stance really well, and he's super strong. The guy is doing like 20 pull ups in here, and at his size doing 20 pull ups is crazy. He'll do three sets of them, with a weighted vest on sometimes, so he can do it all. The thing about Duane is that he's really cerebral. He understands the game and he's our leader up front. He's one of those guys that can really demonstrate how the game is supposed to be played. I think it's going to work out, that's what I'm hoping for and what I'm looking forward to."
