Steelers presumptive starter at QB reportedly had to have calls "dumbed down" with previous team

Football is hard, there is no debating that.

Mentally, physically, and even emotionally, the game puts a strain on every part of the human body.

For quarterbacks, that strain is only magnified. And according to Aditi Kinkhabwala of CBS Sports , Pittsburgh Steelers QB Russell Wilson and his former HC Sean Payton had a relationship that was over before it began:

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Wilson Had to have simple play calls

"He was constantly climbing out of the back of the pocket. He struggled with snap counts. He couldn't manage or handle the play-calling," Kinkhabwala said during an appearance on Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show . "They went from putting a wristband on [him] to by the end of the season, all the play calls had to be two words and everybody else was required to know what the play calls were. There is a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very valid reason that Sean Payton...is saying I'm going to pay this guy millions upon millions of dollars to be nowhere near my locker room."

Look, this sounds a lot like an organization, HC, or front office member kissing and telling on behalf of why they cut bait with a QB who they just extended, triggering the largest dead cap hit in NFL history .

So whatever way they want to justify it, I think a hit job on behalf of Russell Wilson's intellect is a pretty low blow.

We're talking about a 9X Pro Bowler who has been to two Super Bowls and hoisted one Lombardi. A player that before his tenure in Denver, was a lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

If you want to get on him for his personality or his leadership style or always being a "ra-ra" guy, then so be it. But you don't play the hardest position in sports for over a decade without knowing the ins and outs of NFL offenses. Especially not when your athleticism dwindles and you're asked to play in structure more.

Seems like a cheap shot from Denver.

Related: Former Steelers Super Bowl champion says it's time for Mike Tomlin to be on the hot seat