For whatever reason, the Pittsburgh Steelers continue to be linked with Russell Wilson. After a number of analysts named Pittsburgh one of the better fits for the soon-to-be free agent quarterback, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said on SportsCenter this morning that the Steelers are a team that could pursue him as a free agent this offseason.
“He’s gonna have a market,” Fowler said. “I’ve talked to teams who believe like Atlanta, Pittsburgh, New England, a lot of teams could use a good veteran who still has played relatively well this year.”
It just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Wilson is 35 and will likely finish this season with 3,070 yards, 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The numbers aren’t bad, but what good does it do Pittsburgh to add Wilson? If they’re signing him, it’s to be their starter, but it’s not like Wilson is a long-term answer. While he might be an upgrade in the short-term over QB Kenny Pickett, signing Wilson would be admitting that Pickett isn’t the franchise quarterback and would lead to his fifth-year option being declined after the 2024 season.
Pittsburgh then has to go through the cycle of finding another franchise quarterback after Wilson, and at this point, it’s worth questioning if Wilson is really the guy who can lead Pittsburgh to a Super Bowl. He’s been decent this year, but Denver is going to miss the playoffs and he really struggled in 2022. He’s past his prime, and it just doesn’t seem like a drastic enough upgrade to pull the plug on Pickett.
I’m leery on if Pickett is really the guy, but signing a 35-year-old quarterback as a stopgap to start over him just doesn’t feel like the solution. While the Steelers won’t pick high enough in the draft to have a chance at a top quarterback prospect and would likely have to go the veteran route if they wanted a new starter, it doesn’t feel like a move they’d make to move on from Pickett after just two seasons, either.
Wilson will certainly have a market given that he’s already guaranteed $37 million from Denver next season, so he won’t command a big contract. But Wilson would be a better fit in Atlanta or New England, two other teams that Fowler threw out, as both those teams have essentially given up on their young quarterbacks in Desmond Ridder and Mac Jones, respectively, by benching them at multiple points during the season. Both teams are also worse than Pittsburgh currently is.
Sometimes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and Fowler was Pittsburgh’s NFL Nation reporter for ESPN for a period of time. But I just don’t buy that the Steelers will be a player for Wilson. We’ll see come March.
