Reaction to the news of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ reported interest in quarterback Russell Wilson continues to be mixed, and former NFL offensive lineman Damien Woody doesn’t like the move for Wilson.
“This would be a dangerous situation for Russell Wilson, going to Pittsburgh. Because this Pittsburgh Steelers team, they’re not giving up on Kenny Pickett,” Woody said on ESPN’s Get Up this morning. “They’re not gonna throw away a guy they just drafted in the first round a couple years ago. On top of that Russell Wilson, everyone knows that you don’t have to invest a lot of money into him because the Denver Broncos are paying him $39 million. So what that tells me, is Russell Wilson really has to be about this football life now because there’s a big possibility that ultimately he goes to Pittsburgh, he loses out to Kenny Pickett, and it might not be fair.”
One thing to note is that just because Wilson can sign for the minimum doesn’t mean he will. If he’s to come to Pittsburgh, I’d think Wilson would push for more money so the Steelers have some financial investment in him and it’s not an easy decision to just stick him on the bench. I find it hard to believe Wilson will come into a situation where he doesn’t have good odds to start. And given Pittsburgh’s stated goal to provide competition for Pickett, I’m not sure the job would necessarily be guaranteed to Wilson.
Maybe a competition could motivate Wilson and help him round back into form, but at 35 years old, even if he does win the job, he’s only a short-term answer for the Steelers. It’s a move that has risk on both sides, and it’s why I think it might be unlikely to come to fruition. There aren’t a lot of teams with needs at quarterback though, and if Wilson doesn’t like some of the other opportunities around the league, the chance to come to Pittsburgh and compete might be better than nothing.
As Woody said though, it would be an unusual move for the Steelers to just give up on Pickett after two seasons, the bulk of that time coming with Matt Canada as Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator. I have a hard time seeing Wilson being ok with a backup role, and I have a hard time seeing the Steelers willing to hand him the starting job after their comments about Pickett throughout the offseason. Needless to say, it’s going to be an interesting few days with Wilson and the Steelers set to meet within the next 24 hours. We’ll see if a deal can be made and what that will look like going forward for both parties.
