RENTON — Russell Wilson had an eventful offseason.
The public was obsessed with Wilson this offseason, but not because of football. The Seattle Seahawks quarterback made international headlines following his extravagant wedding to pop star Ciara at a castle in Liverpool, England.
His visage appeared more frequently in the tabloids than the sports pages.
“He is smiling a lot,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll answered with a grin when asked how Wilson has changed since getting married.
But beyond that smile, neither Wilson nor the Seahawks expect the offseason life milestone to have any effect on his performance on the football field.
Indeed, when asked about getting married, he immediately steered his answer back toward the football field.
“It’s always a blessing to find the right person,” Wilson began.
“But in terms of the offseason, I’m always busy,” Wilson said.
“You guys know that. I think I stay motivated the more busy I am. It’s motivation to keep doing things and motivation to try to always be successful on the field, most importantly. I’m just grateful I have such great people around me. Obviously, it’s staying organized, staying focused on the main thing. I always say, ‘Keep the main thing the main thing.’ It’s been a fun offseason in terms of getting prepared for this.”
Wilson is coming off a historic season. Last season, his fourth in the NFL, he put up MVP-caliber numbers as he completed 68.1 percent of his passes, became the first Seahawks quarterback to surpass 4,000 yards passing in a season, and threw 34 touchdowns against just eight interceptions. His single-season passer rating of 110.1 was the 15th best in NFL history.
Wilson was even better down the stretch. In his final seven games he was 154-for-217 (71 percent) for 1,906 yards and 24 TDs vs. a single interception. His exploits were crucial as Seattle rallied to make the playoffs after sitting at 4-5 with seven games remaining.
And the scary thing for Seattle’s opponents is the Seahawks believe Wilson can get even better.
“He’s going to grow a lot more and keep improving,” said Carroll, who maintains that it takes a quarterback five to seven years before he truly gets a handle on the NFL. “That is still happening, but he is at a tremendous level right now. Looking at him now, talking to him and watching him on the field with his teammates now compared to two, three years ago, it’s a big difference. It’s subtle, I think it would be subtle to you, but it shows up in so many ways. We are fortunate, you can’t play like he plays without a great understanding. He is going to continue to get better and continue to improve. I think it is what brings him back with such enthusiasm every single year. He knows he can get better and he knows he can improve. He loves that challenge.”
There’s been less talk about the specific areas Wilson worked on this offseason. He said he reported at a slightly leaner weight of 215 pounds, and he said he feels strong.
But Wilson insists his marriage hasn’t affected his motivation.
“I’m always motivated to be the best in the world at playing quarterback and winning more games than 31 other teams,” Wilson said. “That’s honestly the simple goal. If we can win one more game, if we can be the last team to play. But you don’t do that by relaxing, you don’t do that by resting too long.”
“For me, I think it’s about being more efficient and also more purposeful,” Wilson said of handling both his on-field and off-field demands. “Every hour counts, every minute counts.”
