Doctors told Russell Wilson he'd be out between 6-8 weeks. That wasn't going to fly for one of the NFL's most maniacal competitors. The 10th-year veteran had never missed a game, much less multiple weeks.
An absence of some length was inevitable -- Wilson required surgery after suffering mallet-finger tendon damage, a dislocation, and two fractures in his right middle finger -- but this was no time to rest.
Wilson, as he's wont to do amid adversity, worked harder.
"My whole mindset was to cut the time in half," the Seahawks' star quarterback said in his first public comments since gong down in Week 5.
Unable to throw with a pin in his finger, Wilson said he attacked rehab with 19-hour days (with help from his physical therapist and performance team) to revitalize his hand. Last week the pin was removed, and he was throwing a half-day later. This week he returned to practice.
"I even beat my own plan, by having amazing people," Wilson said.
The perennial Pro Bowl QB will make his triumphant return to the playing field Sunday versus the Packers, and he said he's almost entirely healed.
"I feel great. I feel really close. I'm not 100 percent yet but I'm pretty dang close," Wilson said. "I don't need to wear a glove. The hand feels strong."
It's all music to the 3-5 Seahawks' ears. They experienced a three-game skid with Wilson sidelined and are tied for last in the NFC West. Yet they're still just one game out of the NFC's final postseason bid at the halfway point of the season. Seattle has reached the playoffs in all but one campaign with Wilson at the helm.
Now back from injury, Wilson sets his sights on making it back into title contention.
"The first thing is non-negativity," he said. "Just trying to be completely neutral in the midst of it all, knowing that things happen. I'm also knowing that I've been blessed to be able to play all the games I've been able to play and all the things I've been able to do so far in this league. I feel like it's a new beginning."
