NFL schedule-maker defends Russell Wilson’s Week 1 return to Seahawks despite heavy criticism

Russell Wilson will open up the 2022 NFL season with his new team, the Denver Broncos, to face his former team, the Seattle Seahawks. However, some have been significantly critical of that decision, and the league’s schedule-maker defended it.

NFL VP of Broadcast Planning Mike North said that the league looked at many other spots for the matchup, such as on Sunday, Monday, or Thursday night:

"We looked at a lot of different homes for it. It wasn't like ‘Oh, we know for sure we're gonna do that Week 1. We're gonna do it on ESPN, let's go, yeah.’ It was, ‘It could be Sunday night, could be Monday night,’ we thought about it on Thursday night for a while. To your point about you don't wanna be in the grocery store, you don't wanna be Sunday afternoon at soccer practice or something. That’s one that needed to be right.”

North concluded his point by saying it was done to get the game out of the way and to celebrate Wilson and his return to Seattle:

“We needed a whole day’s worth of reminders of what [Wilson] meant to Seattle and all the success they had there. It's so true, had we saved that game for Week 10 or so, and now obviously, the focus is on this season. So, you do it nice and early and you get an opportunity to just have the focus right there. You also, to a certain extent, get it out of the way. You know it's hanging over Russell's head, you know it's hanging over the Seahawks’ head. Let's do it Week 1, let's celebrate it, let's get it over with.”

Denver and Seattle will go at it on September 12th on Monday Night Football in Week 1.

Russell Wilson and his time with the Seahawks

Super Bowl XLVIII - Seattle Seahawks v Denver Broncos

Wilson was drafted by the Seahawks in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft, starting 158 games during a decade with Seattle. The quarterback threw for 37,059 yards, 292 touchdowns, and 87 interceptions.

Wilson led Seattle to the Super Bowl in consecutive seasons, winning Super Bowl XLVIII over the Denver Broncos but falling short in Super Bowl XLIX against the New England Patriots.

When Wilson steps on Lumen Field in Seattle for the first time as an opponent, it might be emotional for the 33-year-old signal-caller, but we’ll see how it kicks off the 2022 season.