The Pittsburgh Steelers have their offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith. They also added QB Russell Wilson to kick-start free agency. So when the Steelers hit the field for training camp at Saint Vincent College this summer, you can bet that there will be plenty of eyes on the quarterbacks.
When Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar broke down the start of the legal tampering period on Tuesday’s episode of the Xs and Os, Wilson was a hot topic. At one point, the duo discussed the potential for teams to take a quarterback in the draft and the Steelers came up. Cosell redirected that conversation toward Wilson and Kenny Pickett.
“The larger question is: Is it a given that Wilson’s the Day 1 starter or is there a competition?” Cosell asked. “I’d be hard-pressed to think they signed Russell Wilson not to be the starter.”
It’s a big question, and multiple people have come down on both sides. Rich Eisen believes there will be a competition between Wilson and Pickett because the Steelers haven’t invested much money in the former at all. The Denver Broncos are on the hook for $39 million to Wilson this year, and that is offset by Wilson’s contract with the Steelers. So the expectation is that Wilson signed for right around the veteran minimum, $1.21 million. He still gets paid $39 million in total between the Broncos and the Steelers.
So at face value, sure, the Steelers aren’t locked into starting Wilson. After all, you can put a player making the minimum on the bench because you haven’t invested much in him. However, Cosell isn’t looking at the financial aspect of the deal.
He’s looking at the fact that this is Russell Wilson. Wilson’s thrown for 334 touchdowns in 188 regular-season games in his career along with 43,653 passing yards. He’s also thrown for another 25 touchdowns in 16 career playoff games (including a Super Bowl win in 2013 and another trip in 2014). Sure, his time in Denver did not end well. Why else would the Broncos be paying him that much to not play for them this year?
Yet for all Wilson’s warts and struggles playing for Broncos head coach Sean Payton in 2023, he still threw for 26 touchdowns versus eight interceptions. That’s one more touchdown than all the Steelers quarterbacks combined over the last two seasons.
Yes, we know that head coach Mike Tomlin has spoken about his commitment to Pickett but did say “he will be challenged from a competition perspective.” So we could see a quarterback competition in Latrobe to start training camp. That’s what Eisen believes, and he’s not alone.
Cosell seems to not be buying that due to Wilson’s pedigree. After all, even a 35-year-old Wilson outperformed Pickett in a less-supportive environment in 2023. Pickett only threw for six touchdowns with four interceptions in 12 games last season. If there is a genuine competition this summer, this will likely be Pickett’s last chance in Pittsburgh to prove that he’s more than a player who simply doesn’t turn the football over at a high rate.
You can watch Cosell and Doug Farrar break down the start of free agency below:
