Russell Wilson’s workout in Boulder offers some troubling signs

Did you see the video of Russell Wilson throwing at CU? Cool, huh?

Looks like he’s in good shape and all that. Arm looks fine. Whatever.

But, it’s just, I couldn’t help but have this certain feeling watching it. And I want to share it with you guys so you can tell me how stupid I am and how Sean Payton is going to resurrect Russell’s career and how the two of them are going to hoist multiple Lombardi Trophies together before retiring on the same day 10 years from now and then getting simultaneously inducted into the Hall of Fame five years after that, both introducing each other in tear-filled speeches, putting a cap on what will soon become the biggest feel-good story in the history of the NFL.

I mean, that’s the most likely scenario. Obvi. So forgive this thought that I can’t help shaking. And here it is:

This will be a very bad season for Russell – like, worse than last season.

The Russell we saw in 2022 — insecure in the pocket, inaccurate, discombobulated — will return in the opening games of 2023, and he’ll subsequently get injured trying to make a play that isn’t there. He’ll “fight through it” and start the next week, and will underperform in a close loss, but it will be a “gutsy” performance based on the trainer massages he’s getting on the sidelines and the grimaces on his face.

He’ll be “questionable” to play each week, and eventually, mercifully, Payton will sit him down and start Jarrett Stidham. Since there’s nothing more alluring than an unproven quarterback, the excitement will be high when Jarrett comes in, and he’ll deliver, at first, with a few carefree laser-beams and a nice long touchdown or two, eliciting a sort of frenzied hope from the fanbase.

“Russell who?”

It’ll be a fun few weeks, but it won’t last. Soon enough, Stidham will come back down to earth, the boos will return, the Broncos will finish 6-11, and everyone will agree, somewhat dejectedly, that the QB of the future is not on the roster.

Why do I have this feeling, you ask?

Because it appears to me, from watching Russell practice and play last season, and seeing him throw up in Boulder a few days ago, that he has forgotten how to play the QB position.

Follow me here. It’s because of the drills he is choosing to run. Yes, the drills.

The other day in Boulder, Russell got to choose the format. There were no Broncos coaches there, just his personal coach, Jake Heaps. Remember, he pays Jake Heaps to run the drills that Russell wants. These drills, in a video content setting, are intended to A) make him look good, B) prepare him to play the season and C) play to his strengths.

So what drills did they do?

Not precision, drop-back, timing passes to the receivers you dragged out here during their vacation just to give you some social media content. Nah, he practiced extending the play. Scrambling. Throwing on the run. Pulling a rabbit out of the hat.

As Jake Heaps barked out well-rehearsed instructions, Russell bounced around the pocket, throwing on the run at complex angles gained by multiple cuts and spins. This is the brand of football that failed last year. This is the brand of football that everyone agrees must be altered under Payton. Yet, it’s the very brand that Russell is training himself to play again this season: Hero Ball.

He is honing his instincts, not to stay in the pocket and dish the rock, but to scramble and make some miraculous throw. Pay attention to your predecessors, Russ. The ones who played into their late 30s and beyond. It isn’t about the plays I can make — its about the plays my teammates can make.

You don’t always have to be the hero.

***

Follow @NathanSerious