The Pittsburgh Steelers have been in playoff darkness for seven seasons, failing to win a single postseason game over that span. Russell Wilson is hopefully the light at the end of the tunnel. That’s how former NFL quarterback and current NBC analyst Chris Simms sees it.
Weighing in with the rest of the football world, Simms offered his take on the Steelers agreeing to terms with Wilson.
“The word I use is the Steelers need a beacon of hope, right?” Simms told co-host Ahmed Fareed on his podcast. “And I don’t think they’ve got that in their quarterback room right now. They don’t have the guy that we talk about so much where the locker room believes in that guy. No matter who we play, we’ve got him a quarterback and we think he can make some magic happen when it’s most important. And I think that’s the thing Russell Wilson will give to the Steelers a little bit.”
Wilson comes in with something most players on the Steelers roster lack. A Super Bowl ring. Starting guard Isaac Seumalo has one and, of course, Mike Tomlin owns one, but it’s a young offense with a defense that has accolades but limited playoff success. Combined, DL Cam Heyward and OLB T.J. Watt have one postseason victory. Wilson was signed, in part, to maximize the Steelers’ window with the pillars of their defense and avoid the ugly legacy of those two never experiencing postseason glory.
On paper, if Wilson can accomplish what he did in 2023, throwing 26 touchdowns to eight interceptions with a two-thirds completion rate, the Steelers can win if they couple it with a sturdy defense and downhill running game. That’s their calculation.
Though no longer in his prime, Simms believes there’s enough flashes in Wilson’s game to make him a starting-caliber quarterback. And Wilson’s arm and physical traits still surpass what Kenny Pickett offers.
“I like Kenny Pickett, but there’s nothing that he does at an elite level,” Simms said. “Russell still has an elite arm and he’s an elite downfield thrower of the football.”
Frankly, Wilson and the Steelers are looking to each other for playoff glory. Pittsburgh hasn’t won in the postseason since the 2016 season. Wilson hasn’t played in a playoff game since 2020 and hasn’t won in the postseason since the 2019 season, a 17-9 Wild Card victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. If this signing works out, both sides will erase playoff droughts in 2024.
