Hours before the Denver Broncos hit the field for team-organized practices during OTAs, quarterback Russell Wilson is already at the facility getting in early-morning work on his own time.
Wilson and multiple teammates report to UCHealth Training Center early each day to study the playbook and exercise before the official work begins.
“Everybody is doing such an amazing job of studying, and everybody is on their stuff,” Wilson said on May 23. “Everybody is committed. There are guys that come in super early to work with me in the mornings. We all kind of do our thing as players and spend a lot of time. I think it has to be a player-owned thing, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Wilson specifically mentioned wide receivers Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick and Montrell Washington plus tight ends Greg Dulcich, Eric Saubert and Andrew Beck among the players who enter the building early with him each morning.
That dedication is a reflection of the mentality that Wilson has. It wouldn’t be fair to suggest Wilson is the sole reason players are reporting early — many would do that regardless — but the quarterback’s drive has undoubtedly set a good example in the building.
“You have to set the tone every day,” Wilson said. “There is no other option. If you want to win, and if you want to win it all and be the best in the world as a team and everything else, there is no other option. That’s what we have to do. It’s a wild obsession every day. … [It’s] the ability to get extra work before practice and after practice and get extra work in the weight room and take care of your mind and your body and your soul. It’s a lifestyle.
“Winning is a lifestyle. It’s bigger than just the ability to compete. It’s also the ability to understand the habits of winning. Those habits have to occur. There is no other option. That’s what winners do, and that’s what a winning football team does. That’s what we’re trying to do, and that’s what we’re trying to do in the midst of it all.”
The Broncos will face a tough challenge in the AFC West this season and their schedule overall won’t be easy, but the work players are putting in now will pay off on game days this fall.
Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts
