Former Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman was a guest on Sirius XM NFL Radio’s The Blitz today, and he talked about the potential fit between quarterback Russell Wilson and the Steelers. The Steelers are reportedly interested in Wilson and planning on meeting with him, and Spielman thinks that Pickett would be a good fit in Pittsburgh as a one-year stopgap.
“It would probably be open competition, I would think, I’d imagine that’s what they’re telling him, because of what they already told Kenny Pickett, but as a one-year stopgap guy that’s gonna cost you probably a veteran minimum because he’s making all his money still from the Denver Broncos, so you can go into a Steelers organization that has a very good football team.”
Spielman also thinks that Wilson could fit Arthur Smith’s offense in a way that’s better than he fit into the Broncos offense. Wilson could turn a good year in Pittsburgh into a long-term contract elsewhere, according to Spielman.
“Who knows, if he has a great one year in Pittsburgh, if he ends up being the starter, that it gets another long-term deal somewhere else.”
Spielman added that Wilson is a “huge upgrade” over Mason Rudolph.
“He’s not the same caliber of player that Russell Wilson is,” Spielman said about Rudolph.
Wilson to Pittsburgh has gotten a mixed reaction in media circles, with former Broncos OL and current analyst Mark Schlereth throwing fire on the idea that Wilson could help the Steelers. Wilson’s no doubt a polarizing player, as his personality can rub people the wrong way and has also raised questions about his fit in Pittsburgh. He also hasn’t been great over the last two seasons in Denver, but prior to his stint with the Broncos, he was one of the best quarterbacks in football with the Seattle Seahawks.
The Steelers have dealt with bad quarterback play out of Kenny Pickett, who seemed to take a step back in 2023 from his rookie season in 2022. The Steelers claim to have faith in Pickett, and it is interesting that Spielman agrees with Rich Eisen, who thinks it would legitimately be a competition between Pickett and Wilson. The assumption I have is that Wilson would look to go somewhere where he can start, and I’d think that would be the case with the Steelers, as well. I’d classify it as a major surprise if Wilson went to the Steelers and began the season as a backup.
Either way, the question for Pittsburgh under Spielman’s scenario becomes a question of what’s next if Wilson truly is a one-year stopgap. It would be hard to turn back to Pickett in 2025 after benching him, and the Steelers would find themselves in the now-familiar position of needing to find an answer at the quarterback position. There’s no guarantee Wilson does enough to raise the team’s ceiling enough to necessarily make a one-year risk worth it in my eyes, and that’s something the Steelers will have decide.
It’s going to be an interesting week with free agency opening on March 13. There’s going to be a lot of quarterback movement, and we’ll see just how involved the Steelers get in the quarterback frenzy.
