WATCH: Russell Wilson coaches Damar Hamlin from the sidelines to win celebrity basketball game vs Aaron Donald
Russell Wilson is continuing to endear himself to his new home of Pittsburgh. And he has met some old rivals along the way.
On Saturday night, the Steelers quarterback was among a slew of football players at "Damar Hamlin's Celebrity Game" at North Allegheny High School in the suburb of Wexford. The namesake Buffalo Bills safety, who notoriously collapsed during a 2022-23 regular season game against the Cincinnati Bengals, hit a buzzer-beating three to lift his team to a 120-117 win over a squad led by former Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald:
For further context, both defensive players grew up in the Pittsburgh area and attended the city's namesake university.
Russell Wilson playing mentor to Justin Fields
Much doubt has been raised about the Russell Wilson-Justin Fields dynamic at the Pittsburgh Steelers, with the former Chicago Bear noting that there was no favoritism shown in the fight to be no. 1:
"I'm definitely competing, Russ knows that. We're competing against each other every day. I definitely don't have the mindset of me just sitting all year, so I'm coming in every day, giving it all I got and pushing him to be his best and he's pushing me to be my best each and every day."
But at the same time, he also acknowledged Russell Wilson's very invaluable veteran mentorship:
"It's been great. Just learning from him every day ... the way he acts around his teammates. He's been a great teammate to me, a great mentor to me. It's awesome to have a guy like Russell in the room, and me get to learn from him and kind of pick his brain on some stuff for sure."
Meanwhile, CBS's Tyler Sullivan wrote that the competition between the two will be one of the biggest talking points of the 2024-25 season:
"Given his age, Fields has the better long-term upside. If he outright wins the job, it will be interesting to see if Wilson would stick around as the backup or possibly part ways with the organization to seek out a starting job elsewhere."
The team's summer camp begins on July 25 and ends on August 14. Preseason begins on August 9 against the Houston Texans.