Though it’s no longer a secret Russell Wilson is meeting with the Pittsburgh Steelers, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler offered details on the get-together. Appearing on ESPN’s NFL Live Friday, Fowler said Wilson and the Steelers began their meeting roughly an hour ago, which would put it around 3 PM/EST.
“I think they’re sorting all that right now,” Fowler said when asked what Wilson’s role in Pittsburgh would be. “I was told he got in the building an hour ago. So the meeting is happening right now, this afternoon. They haven’t gotten a gauge of how this is going to go yet. Those exact questions are being answered right now.”
Fowler tweeted the news, too.
After a reported “exploratory meeting” with the New York Giants Thursday, Wilson flew out of New Jersey Friday morning to meet with Pittsburgh. It reportedly isn’t his last expected stop with the Las Vegas Raiders also rumored to be in the mix. Of course, if Wilson loves everything he hears from Mike Tomlin and the Steelers’ front office, there’s nothing stopping him from verbally agreeing to a deal and cancelling his other trips. However, Wilson is still under contract and can’t officially sign anywhere until the start of the new league year, next Wednesday, when the Denver Broncos officially release him.
With the Broncos on the hook for his 2024 contract due to offset language, Wilson will presumably sign with the team that gives him the best chance to start and win. Fowler believes Wilson understands that the Steelers could offer both.
“I do know the Steelers have Russell Wilson’s attention,” he said. “Because he wants a team that has won and won consistently. And the Steelers are in the playoffs virtually every year with Mike Tomlin. They have weapons, they have everything they need with the proverbial quarterback.”
For most of the offseason, the Steelers seemed to be out on acquiring a “name” quarterback that would potentially take Kenny Pickett’s starting job. Echoing comments from colleague Brooke Pryor, Fowler said he heard at last week’s NFL Scouting Combine that the team was sticking with Pickett.
“Coming out of the Combine, I was getting a strong sense from sources they were going to give Kenny Pickett another chance. Or at least strongly flirting with it,” Fowler said. “They had new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith [go] down to South Florida, meet with him extensively. They had a great meeting. So the process of rebuilding Pickett is underway.”
That Smith-Pickett meeting was reported last week. Smith was hired, in part, due to his ability to rebuild Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee, turning his career around. The same could be said for Pickett. That is, if he remains the starter. Which based on how conversations go with Wilson today is a possibility that hangs in the balance.
