ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Denver Bronco Russell Wilson is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL right now.
That’s not enough for him. His fire burns much deeper.
By the time he hangs ’em up and calls it a career, he wants to be one of the best that’s ever played.
“My goal is to play 10-12 more years and hopefully win three to four more Super Bowls. That’s the plan. That’s the mindset,” Wilson stated on Wednesday with a straight face during his introductory press conference in Denver. “That’s why I came here—to hopefully finish my career here and finish on top as a champion and do it multiple times. So that’s my mindset.”
With one Lombardi Trophy already under his belt, stacking three to four more on during his career in Denver would give Wilson the second-most Super Bowls for a quarterback in NFL history.
“I came here for one reason. I came here for one reason. And that’s to win. That’s what I believe in,” Wilson stated. “Every day, what you’re going to get from me is that mentality. You’re going to get that juice. You’re going to get that focus… But we’re here for one thing and that’s to win. It’s to win at the highest level often.”
Three championships in Denver, for a total of four in his career, would tie Wilson with Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw for the second-most championships ever. Winning four in Orange & Blue, to bring his total to five, would put him in second place all by himself, only trailing Tom Brady.
That alone would put him on the Mount Rushmore of all-time NFL quarterbacks. With that accomplishment, he would join Brady and Manning as only the third quarterback to win Super Bowls with multiple teams.
“Just to win a Super Bowl period is a gift. It’s an amazing journey. That would mean a lot. Obviously Tom and Peyton, those are two of the greatest quarterbacks of all time,” Wilson said, when asked how much it would mean to join that prestigious club. “I want to stay on the right track and just continue to exponentially grow and continually to exponentially win.
“To win more Super Bowls, like I told you, I want to win three to four more Super Bowls, that’s the plan, that’s the goal, that’s the mission, that’s the vision,” No. 3 quickly rattled off, as if he’s been going over this in his head since being traded on Mar. 8. “And let’s do it. Why not? But it takes everybody.”
Super Bowls aren’t the only path to Russ solidifying himself as an all-time great either. And there’s potentially a much easier path to putting himself in that elite company.
Russ wants to play at least 10 more years. In his first 10 years in the NFL, he’s made a whopping nine Pro Bowls. On that pace, he would have 18 Pro Bowls by the time he finishes his 20th season. That would give him the most Pro Bowls in NFL history, blowing other elite quarterbacks and players out of the water.
Currently, Tom Brady has the most Pro Bowls for a quarterback in NFL history with 15, followed closely by Peyton Manning—a friend of Wilson’s—who has 14.
With nine already in his possession, it’s certainly realistic for Russ to catch the all-time greats and set a new record.
But at age 33, is 10-12 more seasons realistic for the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback?
He has no doubt in his mind, thanks to his work ethic.
“You got to take care of yourself. Every day I’m always working out. Every day,” he stated, sounding like Brady, who is about to enter his 23rd season in the NFL at age 45. “There are no off days. There are no off days.”
Unlike Brady, who prioritizes getting at least eight hours of sleep every night, Russ barely knows what sleep is.
“What do you mean sleep? There’s no time to sleep,” he said half jokingly. “I don’t sleep much. If I get four or five hours, I’m good.”
Wilson’s approach of “no off days” and barely any sleep has been a way of life since his childhood.
“I learned it when I was young,” he said, talking about his tireless work ethic. “When my daddy was hitting me ground balls when I was four, five, six years old, seven years old and he would wake my brother and I up at 5:00, 5:30 in the morning hitting ground balls. So to me I’ve always known that. It’s the only thing I’ve ever known.”
Just because Russ is entering his mid 30s, don’t expect his game to change either. He still wants to be an elusive scrambler when his number is called.
“I’ll keep moving, keep scrambling and stuff like that,” Wilson said. “But I think that my whole career I’ve always thought about facilitating the ball to the right guy at the right time. It’s never really about me just taking off and running, but those situations when I can, those are always positive plays too.”
And much like his scrambling days aren’t over, his elite play—292 touchdowns to only 87 interceptions—is far from over too. In fact, he believes that, much like his Broncos career, his elite play is just getting started.
“I think some of the best quarterbacks of all time, some of their best years are that 30-40-plus range. As you can see, Tom [Brady] coming back. Drew [Brees] as long as he played—and different guys as long as they played—so to me, I haven’t even got started yet,” Wilson said, leaning in to the media members and delivering the final sentence with a whisper, as if it was a secret.
What’s no secret is Russell Wilson is in Denver for a long time and what he hopes is a good time. While he’s built a Hall-of-Fame resume as a Seahawk, he wants to do even more, and play even more, as a Denver Bronco.
The Broncos already have two all-time quarterbacks in Manning and John Elway. Russell Wilson wants to be the third.
“I’m excited to win multiple championships,” Russ stated.
“Broncos Country, let’s ride.”
