Denver Broncos

Russell Wilson takes fitness to new heights on London flight

Updated Oct. 27, 2022 4:56 p.m. ET

Russell Wilson is determined to suit up for the Denver Broncos in Week 8 after missing last week with a hamstring injury, so much so that he spent half of the team's flight to London exercising while his teammates slept.

Denver will face Jacksonville at Wembley Stadium on Sunday (9:30 a.m. ET) in the third game of the 2022 International Series, and Wilson's four-hour inflight workout has caused quiet the stir among the sports world.

"I don’t really get jet-lagged too often," Wilson said. "I’ve traveled enough to get my system down. I was on the plane, the first two hours … I was watching the film, watching all the cutups and everything else. Then for the next four hours I was doing treatment on the plane. I was walking up and down the aisles. Everybody was knocked out, I was doing high knees and working on all my legs and everything else, making sure I’m ready to rock. … The last two hours … I fell asleep for one hour and then watching film the rest … and I feel great."

On Thursday's "Undisputed," Shannon Sharpe broke down why he believes that Wilson "is about the show now" and is more concerned with being a great celebrity than being a great NFL quarterback.

"Why do you feel you need to tell the media that?" he questioned. "Because you want them to think that you're something you're not. You see, the problem that Russ has it that Russ never tried to ingratiate himself with his teammates. He came in and said, ‘I’m Russell Wilson and you're not. I should be afforded things that you don't deserve.' I don't fault him for asking for it, [but] I fault the Broncos for giving it to him."

Skip Bayless echoed his cohost's thoughts, calling Wilson's workout and ensuing remarks "cringeworthy."

"I could not believe this story that he actually bragged about how he can 'defeat' jet lag," Bayless said. "He (Wilson) said, 'I’m super locked in.' You're super locked in? … This is an NFL quarterback? … You have lost it man. You have gone completely over the edge intro Celebrityville."

Wilson is in the midst of a tumultuous first year with the Broncos, who are scoring just 14.3 points per game through the first seven games of the season — their fewest since 1992. Wilson has struggled mightily in Denver, completing just 58.6% of his passes and recording five touchdown passes in six starts this year.

Denver is 2-5 on the year after trading three players and five draft picks to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for the former Pro Bowl quarterback and a 2022 fourth-round selection.

Wilson and Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett told the media that the QB expects to play Sunday, although neither have disclosed whether a final decision has been made in regard to his availability. Wilson was a limited participant in the Broncos' Wednesday and Thursday practices in London.

"He had a good day of practice today," Hackett said Thursday. "[He] looks good, and we're just going to keep on monitoring it day to day and make sure he's OK."

Here's how the sports world reacted to Wilson in-air fitness routine: