I’m spit-balling here. I do not have any inside information and I honestly am not a fan of this at all but it bears discussion. Why you may ask? Because the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in a division and a conference where quarterback play is so far ahead of their own, we aren’t even visible in the rear-view mirror. Russell Wilson, the one-time Super Bowl Champion was traded a few years back to the Denver Broncos. He was then given a contract that only an insane ownership group would have agreed to but that’s in the past.
It is not a secret that Sean Payton and the Broncos want to move on from their ‘Wilson Mistake.’ To do so, would mean cutting him and therefore they’d eat more dead money than any player I can recall. A post June 1st cut would mean the Broncos would have $35 million and $49 million in dead money in 2024 and 2025 respectively. This… is how badly the Broncos want to get away from Wilson. Don’t ask about a trade because there isn’t a team on this planet that would trade for that salary.
NOTE: Wilson’s 2025 salary is guaranteed on March 18th of this year if still with the Broncos.
Why then would the Pittsburgh Steelers want to bring this guy in if a team in their own conference wants to get rid of him so badly? For starters, Wilson’s play last season under Sean Payton wasn’t nearly as bad as some would have you think. He completed 66% of his passes for 3,070 yards 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He finished 2023 with a QB Rating of 98. By comparison, Kenny Pickett completed 62.6% of his passes for 2,070 yards with six TDs and four INTs. His end of year rating was 81.4. No matter how big of a Pickett fan you are, there is no one who could argue that Wilson’s numbers aren’t better across the board.
No comparison is fair however without looking at Mason Rudolph’s numbers too. Although the sample size is much smaller, Rudy finished with a QB rating of 118, had a completion percentage of 74.3%, threw three TDs and had zero INTs. Three games however is not an effective way to compare here but at the same time, one cannot dismiss it.
Wilson would not likely come to Pittsburgh without assurances that he would be QB1. Even an ‘open competition’ might not be enough to persuade him to come here. We must also take into account that he’s 35 years old, is known as a ‘me first’ type of guy in the locker room and would new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith be keen on having Wilson run his offense?
I’m not a fan of bringing Wilson to the Steelers but I’m open to it more today than I was even a few weeks ago. With Smith charged with getting this running game up to the levels he’s used to, the pressure on Wilson may not be as intense. Signing Wilson would also be a better move than trading for Justin Fields simply because the Steelers wouldn’t have to give up anything. Plus you largely know what you’re getting with Wilson. With Fields? You’re getting a lot of turnovers and the ‘hope’ that he has turned the corner.
Again, I’m not a huge fan of Wilson coming to the Steel City, but I get it.
