IN PHOTOS: Steelers' Russell Wilson displays muscular physique during boxing workout
Russell Wilson is entering a brand new situation ahead of the 2024 NFL season, after signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers during the offseason.
He will be playing his third team in the past four years, and this time around, he's not guaranteed to be the starter. He will instead reportedly compete with Justin Fields during training camp for the starting quarterback role.
The veteran quarterback appears to be taking his new reality seriously during the offseason and is apparently focused on getting into the best shape possible. He recently shared on his personal X account that he has got back into boxing training after getting away from it for the past few years.
His strategy of getting back into his peak physical shape appears to be working out for him. In his X post, he shared pictures and a video of himself in a boxing ring, and he looks to be more muscular as the new NFL season approaches.
Here's how Wilson looks:
Russell Wilson mentioned that he previously used boxing as one of his training methods, from 2018 through to 2020, when he was still with the Seattle Seahawks.
He is accurate in saying that he turned in some of the best seasons of his career during that time.
Two of his four seasons with more than 4,000 passing yards came during that stretch. Also, in that period, he had two seasons of 35 or more passing touchdowns. Lastly, only two of his three seasons with seven or fewer interceptions came in that era.
While it's unclear how much his boxing training had to do with his success, it's surely an interesting trend. The Steelers are likely hoping that he can get back to that version of himself after his relative struggles with the Denver Broncos.
He could potentially pay off for them in a big way this year, especially considering the minimal risk that they took in signing him.
Russell Wilson presents an ideal situation for the Steelers
The Denver Broncos made a bold move in releasing Russell Wilson during the 2024 NFL offseason. They are suffering a major financial penalty as a result of doing so, as they are forced to pay him $39 million for the upcoming season, despite him not even being on their roster.
This presented the Pittsburgh Steelers with an ideal opportunity to sign Wilson to a veteran-minimum contract worth just $1.21 million. This also allowed them to bring in Justin Fields, giving them another option to replace Kenny Pickett this season.
This was likely only possible due to the major discount they got on Wilson. It also minimizes their risk, because if the veteran doesn't work out, they have no long-term commitment to him, financially or otherwise.