Though Mike Tomlin seems confident his starting quarterback is currently on the roster, Kenny Pickett or Mason Rudolph, Peter King isn’t as convinced. And at the least, to King, Tomlin should think long and hard about adding Russell Wilson whenever the Denver Broncos part ways with him.
Appearing on 93.7 The Fan Tuesday morning, King made the case.
“I would not rule out Russell Wilson there,” King told the Cook & Joe Show with Ron Cook and Joe Starkey. “I think if Mike Tomlin had his way, I think he’d want to get a guy who was a veteran quarterback in here or in there who will make sure that you enter the season with a fighting chance against three teams in your division. All of whom have a better quarterback situation right now than you do.”
On paper, Pittsburgh’s quarterback situation looks the worst in the division. Lamar Jackson is about to become the league’s MVP, Joe Burrow will return healthy next season, and while things in Cleveland remain murky with Deshaun Watson, most would rank him over Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph. Given the AFC’s final four playoff teams all having stud quarterbacks, the Steelers appear at a disadvantage.
Wilson and the Broncos are speeding toward a divorce. Denver benched him late in the season, publicly citing performance reasons but additional reporting, confirmed by Wilson, indicated the Broncos wanted him to eliminate the guaranteed language in his contract. Wilson declined and Denver threatened to bench him midseason, finally doing so in Week 17.
For the first part of 2023, Wilson appeared to be reborn after a difficult first year in Denver under Nathanial Hackett. Through his first five games, he was completing over two-thirds of his throws with 11 touchdowns and two interceptions. The Broncos weren’t winning, having a 1-4 record, but Wilson looked much improved. But he faded down the stretch, throwing three picks in a loss to the Houston Texans and struggling against the Detroit Lions two weeks later in a blowout loss. He finished the year throwing 26 touchdowns to eight interceptions. Solid numbers, but his tape was less impressive, and he racked up too many negative plays. Not as mobile as he used to be, Wilson was sacked 45 times.
Turning 36 in November, he’s not a long-term option and it’s valid to question how helpful he’ll be in the short-term. Determining his market value will also be difficult and King admitted he doesn’t know how many teams will be interested and what their price tag will be.
“I have absolutely no idea what his market will be or how aggressive people will be,” he said.
Based on Tomlin’s public comments, the plan is to re-sign Rudolph and have him compete with Pickett for the starting job in training camp. But if Rudolph walks, the Steelers will likely still want veteran competition. Wilson may not be seen as that — it’d be difficult to sign and not start him, even if the money wasn’t significant — but it would put Pittsburgh in an interesting dilemma. And certainly increase the calls for the Steelers to land one of the “name” quarterbacks of the offseason be it Justin Fields, Kirk Cousins, Wilson, or anyone else.
