Tackle Mike McGlinchey has seen plenty of Russell Wilson over the years, but he’s getting a new view of the quarterback this spring.
McGlinchey signed with the Broncos after spending five seasons with the 49ers and Wilson was quarterbacking the Seahawks for the first four of those years. The NFC West teams faced off twice a year during that span and McGlinchey said Thursday that he didn’t have the warmest opinion of Wilson in those days.
There weren’t many good feelings about Wilson in Denver last season either, but McGlinchey believes that the stage is set for that to change. McGlinchey said that the combination of Wilson’s work ethic, head coach Sean Payton‘s arrival and the talent on the roster will result in a major turnaround for the Broncos.
“For the longest time, I really couldn’t stand Russell because of how many times he beat us,” McGlinchey said, via the team’s website. “To be in the locker room with him and to be able to be in the huddle with him now has been awesome. Russ, first and foremost, he’s a workhorse. There’s nobody in the building that works harder than him. He’s addicted to this game and is addicted to trying to be great. That rubs off on a lot of people. And there’s a reason that he’s had the success in this league that he’s had. I’m excited for what we can all do together, because I think with coach, with Russ, with the talent we have on this team, I think we have a really good shot to help Russ get to even higher heights than he’s been.”
There were plenty of rosy reports about Wilson and the Broncos at this point last year and things wound up going off the rails come the regular season, so any optimism should be taken with a grain of salt until there’s a chance to actually see the team in action.