The Russell Wilson era with the Denver Broncos will begin in the very place he carved out a Hall of Fame-worthy career.
Wilson and the Broncos will open the 2022 season against the host Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on Monday Night Football in a game that one would predict will be riding high with emotion.
For Wilson, though, that's precisely what cannot happen.
"I think for me, it's non-emotional," Wilson said during a Monday news conference amid Broncos organized team activities. "It's gotta be non-emotional. You gotta be able to go into it with the understanding that it's just ball, you know. Also understanding that there's been amazing times, there's been a lot of touchdowns there, and won a lot of games there, so I got great experience.”
Among a lengthy list of great experiences for Wilson during his time with the Seahawks were a Super Bowl XLVIII win, nine Pro Bowls and the franchise's record in QB wins (104) as a starter, passing yardage (37,059) and passing touchdowns (292).
A quarterback of Wilson's ilk leaving the franchise he had so much success with and playing against them isn't a seasonal occurrence. Wilson will become just the fifth QB in NFL history to win 100 or more games with one team and later face them, according to NFL Research. And it will happen in Week 1 in prime time.
"I think it’s gonna be an exciting time," said Wilson, who was traded from the Seahawks to the Broncos in March.
No matter the metric, Wilson is inarguably the greatest quarterback in Seahawks history and in consecutive games he'll have played his last game for Seattle and play his first against the Seahawks.
Wilson, who will likewise become the first signal-caller in league history to start for a team he previously defeated in a Super Bowl when he takes the field for Denver, is likely to downplay the magnitude and sentiment of the game, aiming to focus on it being the age-old "just another game." But it's not just another game, not according to history, the likely decibel level from the 12s at Lumen and certainly not in the eyes of the league schedule makers.
"Obviously, Seattle’s meant the world to me over the past 10 years," Wilson said. "It’s a special place. It’s a special place to play, Lumen Field. I have high regard for all those guys over there and what they do."
It's a special place and a special game, and one in which Wilson is going to do everything in his fleet feet and championed right arm to send those old coaches and teammates he has such high regard for to defeat when he debuts as a Bronco against his old squad on Sept. 12.