The Pittsburgh Steelers have long been an organization that centers their mission on one goal every season—winning the Super Bowl. That standard was set in the 1970s and continues to be the north star for the franchise. It informs their decisions every year in both free agency and the draft. Never once has the team admitted in recent years that it is rebuilding, despite future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger retiring prior to the 2022 season. With QB Russell Wilson joining the team, that goal seems more attainable than at any point over at least the last several seasons.
The Steelers haven’t gotten close to that goal since their last playoff win in the 2016 season when Tom Brady and the New England Patriots ended their run in the AFC Championship Game. While they are far from favorites to win it all in 2024, they have a quarterback who has been to two Super Bowls, winning one, and they acquired him for just $1.21 million.
Recent history with quarterbacks changing franchises suggests they will not be able to pull it off in Year 1, but reports have already indicated that Wilson and the Steelers have mutual interest in an extension after the 2024 season. Looking at QBs who have moved teams and at least made it to the Super Bowl within their first two or three seasons, that list is much friendlier to the Steelers’ prospects of following a similar path.
There are three examples since 2000 of a quarterback moving teams and winning the Super Bowl in their first season there: Tom Brady with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Trent Dilfer with the Baltimore Ravens, and Nick Foles with the Philadelphia Eagles. All three of those situations are vastly different from each other, but there is some precedence for it happening.
If you expand that list to quarterbacks who have either been to the Super Bowl or won it in their first few seasons after they switched teams, you can add Peyton Manning, Kerry Collins, Jimmy Garoppolo and Matthew Stafford to the list.
So it isn’t terribly uncommon for a free agent or trade acquisition at quarterback to turn around and find success with their new team early on. And those quarterbacks fall into several different tiers, from among the greatest of all time in Manning and Brady to the backup who made a magical run and never replicated that success in Foles.
Another guy who falls slightly outside those parameters is Kurt Warner. Their two situations aren’t exactly the same, but Wilson and Warner both enjoyed great seasons early on in their careers with their original teams before heading elsewhere and struggling. Warner went from the St. Louis Rams to the New York Giants and struggled with his second team, much like Wilson with the Denver Broncos.
Warner went on to lead the Arizona Cardinals, his third team, to the Super Bowl in 2008, losing against the Steelers. He finished the last two seasons of his career very strong. The Steelers are obviously hoping for a similar career arc for Wilson. Funny enough, Warner and Wilson are right next to each other on Pro Football Reference’s Hall of Fame monitor. Warner was inducted in 2017. Wilson is on the bubble now, so he has every reason to revive his career to tip himself over the edge into being a surefire Hall of Famer someday.
By the sounds of it, the Wilson-Steelers union could very well extend beyond the 2024 season, so even if he doesn’t take them back to contender status right away, there is historical precedent that suggests there is at least a chance. The Steelers went 10-7 with subpar quarterback play in 2023, and Wilson has the pedigree to improve on that. Once in the playoffs, anything can happen.
