If you were to run a poll of the national NFL media of whom the Pittsburgh Steelers should bring in at quarterback for 2024, you’d get a lot of different answers. One of the most common, though, would probably be Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson. If you then poll people on how they feel Wilson would succeed in Pittsburgh, you’ll also get some varied answers. For instance, former NFL WR Victor Cruz thinks that the Steelers would be AFC North champions with Wilson at quarterback.
Don’t count Mike Golic Jr. among those who feel optimistic about a Wilson-Pittsburgh union, though. On Monday’s episode of GoJo and Golic, the one-time undrafted free agent guard of the Steelers discussed his feelings about Wilson as a whole and with the Steelers specifically.
“The Steelers are a team that expects to be competitive each and every season,” Golic said. “Mike Tomlin’s got the record, we know, of consecutive seasons without a losing record. And a lot of the frustration now in Pittsburgh is how do we get to that next level? How do we get back to Lombardis in the conversation we’re used to? Russell Wilson, in my mind, is not the answer to that question.”
Golic mentions earlier in the clip that Wilson isn’t the same quarterback as he was with the Seattle Seahawks. That’s going to be very hard to argue against. After all, Wilson’s 35 and will turn 36 in November. He also was not good in his first season in Denver.
However, he did bounce back and have a quality year in 2023 despite all the issues between the eight-time Pro Bowler and the team. Wilson completed 66.4 percent of his passes for 3,070 yards and 26 touchdowns versus eight interceptions in 15 games. That would be a major upgrade to the production the Steelers had last season.
The problem is that Wilson is not the long-term solution for the position. He may put the Steelers back in the conversation of contenders for 2024, but the likelihood that he would offer sustained success for the next five seasons is quite small. The Steelers obviously want to start winning in the playoffs right now as team owner Art Rooney II has articulated. However, the Steelers also want to have sustained success and contend for the Super Bowl year after year.
Wilson could certainly help with the former, but he is not the answer for sustained contention for the foreseeable future.
