Pat Surtain II Deftly Handles Russ Question Meant to Trigger Headlines
Everyone has an opinion about Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, especially after his well-documented struggles in Year 1 in the Mile High City.
When Broncos All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II checked in with the hosts of the Good Morning Football show, the crew tried to elicit some kind of reaction from him about Kyle Brandt's recent AFC quarterback rankings. Of course, it was bound to relate to where Wilson had been placed in the fourth tier of AFC signal-callers by Brandt.
Surtain went into lockdown mode to guard against letting any easy soundbites slip out regarding how he rates his own quarterback. Instead, he expertly batted the subject away and deflected it onto what he thought about Trevor Lawrence.
"I think tier one through four pretty solid,” Surtain said, diplomatically holding the line.
Surtain's maturity stretches beyond the field of play. In the bait-and-switch game of the media, it becomes understandable why Broncos head coach Sean Payton has focused on giving the media little-to-no access and why he's issued a social media moratorium.
Given the clamor to talk with NFL stars like Surtain, particularly in the dog days just after the draft, Payton will no doubt be delighted that his young corner not only kept his council but talked up the positives Wilson provides.
“Russ is doing fine, he’s doing well,” Surtain told GMF. “Obviously, he’s in for OTAs, working with the team, doing well. Just getting in with the offense—schematically with the playbooks and all of that. Obviously, he’s got a strong work ethic, so you know he’s looking forwards to the season coming up. You can just tell from his attitude, his demeanor, that he’s ready and focused on the season coming up.”
Wilson's clean-cut image has always left him susceptible to the forked tongues of the critics, especially after his poor play afforded them an easy opportunity to pile on his back. Ultimately, changing that narrative is going to boil down largely to how Wilson responds to what Payton puts in place to put him back together in 2023.
The siege-type mentality that has been adopted by Payton, and followed to the letter by the likes of Surtain, will likely come in handy later on down the line.
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