The news came swift Thursday morning from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac: the Pittsburgh Steelers and Russell Wilson have mutual interest, and a meeting is tentatively planned between the free agent quarterback and the franchise.
All offseason, there has been talk about the Steelers needing to find an upgrade at the position, but time and time again key decision makers such as team owner Art Rooney II, head coach Mike Tomlin and GM Omar Khan all publicly stated their belief in Kenny Pickett moving forward as a franchise quarterback. Though they stated that Pickett does need to improve and that competition would be brought in, Wilson doesn’t exactly line up as competition.
He profiles as the clear-cut starter.
For the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo, during an appearance on 93.7 The Fan’s The Joe Show with Joe Starkey, that would likely be the case if Wilson were to sign with the Steelers. And if that happens, it would make it even harder to believe the Steelers have had faith in Pickett all along although Fittipaldo offered a caveat to that.
“It’s hard to believe that they have full faith in Kenny the way that Omar and Mike talked about Kenny after the season ended. So, listen, they might view this as, ‘Hey, we got an aging defense. We got T.J. Watt for x number of years, Cam Heyward for x number of years, Minkah [Fitzpatrick], you know, let’s maximize this defense while we have it and let’s see if we can make it work with Russell Wilson,'” Fittipaldo said regarding the Wilson development, according to audio via 93.7 The Fan.
If that is the Steelers’ thought process, it’s the right one. The defense is getting older. Heyward turns 35 in May. Watt will be 30 in October. Fitzpatrick turns 28 in November.
Time isn’t exactly on the Steelers’ side to be patient at the most important position in all of football and hope that Pickett figures it out.
Which could be why they are interested in Wilson. But that could throw a wrench into things with Pickett should Wilson be signed.
Presumably, Pickett would stick around and become the No. 2 behind Wilson. The Steelers can talk all they want about “competition” at the quarterback position between the two if the move were to happen, but you’re not signing Wilson to sit. And he’s not coming to Pittsburgh to be in a QB battle, especially coming off a strong 2023 season in which he threw for 3,070 yards, 26 touchdowns and just eight interceptions before being benched in a financial-driven move.
Fittipaldo can’t see Wilson coming to Pittsburgh without being the starter, either.
“Obviously in that scenario, I don’t think they would discard Kenny, but you know, Kenny would likely be the number two,” Fittipaldo said. “I don’t think Russell Wilson would sign here knowing that he would be a backup. At least I don’t think that. Gerry [Dulac] didn’t have that in the story, but I would have a hard time seeing Russell go anywhere without a chance to start or at least compete to start.”
Wilson would have the chance to compete for the starting job in Pittsburgh, no doubt. But it would seem like a slap in the face – at least on the surface — to bring him in and have him compete against Pickett, who was effectively benched late last season for Mason Rudolph. Wilson is a been-there, done-that quarterback who has proven quite a bit in his Hall of Fame career.
That’s not the type of guy you bring in to put into a QB battle.
We’ll see what happens, but the development Thursday has really thrown things for a loop. When push came to shove, the Steelers didn’t have that full faith in Pickett like the message was all offseason. They’re interested in Wilson, and that is an upgrade. Maybe it gets done. Maybe it doesn’t.
But the Steelers are undoubtedly looking to upgrade over Pickett.
