The offseason for Russell Wilson has featured two prominent running storylines. One centers on the negotiations toward a contract extension for the Seahawks quarterback, a deal that's expected to make Wilson the richest player in football.
The second narrative is a little harder to pin down. Wilson, a former minor league baseball player, spent time with the Texas Rangers for the second consecutive spring in March, and has been telling anyone who will listen that he continues to have aspirations about a return to the diamond. We heard more of the same when Wilson sat down with NFL Media's Dan Hellie on Wednesday's edition of NFL Total Access.
"I'll tell you this, it would be very hard, it would be very hard," Wilson said when asked if he could play both sports. "But I believe if anybody could do it, I could do it. I played two sports my whole life. I think it's funny when people think that the whole baseball thing is kind of a ploy or whatever.
"For me, I've played baseball since I was three years old. I've loved the game since I was a young kid, so for me, I've loved both sports. It was my dad's dream and it was my dream. I don't know if it's going to happen, but I'll tell you this, I won't give up football."
Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said his team would not attempt to interfere with Wilson's NFL career. The Rangers own his baseball rights after selecting Wilson in the Rule 5 draft in 2013.
"Russell has the competitiveness and work ethic to where he'd have a shot if he committed to baseball," Daniels told reporters, according to ESPN.com. "Obviously, he's got a pretty good thing going on with the Seahawks, and we're not going to get in the way of that. Playing quarterback is more intensive than the positions of other guys who have attempted to play both sports."
Deion Sanders is the last pro athlete to play in the NFL and Major League Baseball at the same time. Sanders is the last guy to take a limo, helicopter and plane ride from a football game to a baseball game, too. Primetime is the last guy to do a lot of things.
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