The Pittsburgh Steelers have reportedly agreed to terms with quarterback Russell Wilson, and The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly writes that Wilson in Pittsburgh would essentially spell the end of 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett’s Steelers career. Mason Rudolph’s too.
“Rudolph will likely sign elsewhere, and make no mistake about it, Pickett’s career as a Pittsburgh Steeler is all but over. The Steelers have to decide on Pickett’s fifth-year option next May. I suppose a colossal Wilson failure coupled with a late-season Pickett push could change the youngster’s trajectory, but that’s asking a lot,” Kaboly writes.
The Steelers are going to try and frame it as a competition between Wilson and Pickett, but Wilson isn’t coming to Pittsburgh to sit on the bench. Obviously, Kaboly’s sentiment isn’t that Pickett’s departure from Pittsburgh is imminent but it’s highly unlikely at this point that his fifth-year option gets picked up for 2026 after this season, especially if he backs up Wilson. It’ll be tough to go back to Pickett in 2025 as well after essentially picking Wilson over him, and the Steelers might be looking for a quarterback again after this season.
But it’s been far too long since the Steelers have had success in the playoffs, and there’s no doubt that the team’s quarterback play has held them back over the past few years. Wilson is a former Super Bowl champion and given that he’s in the unique position of still being owed his 2024 salary from the Denver Broncos, the Steelers are taking on little risk by reportedly paying him the minimum and hoping he can lead this team to some success in January. With Pittsburgh’s core, particularly DL Cameron Heyward, who advocated for Wilson, not getting any younger, Wilson can come in and give them their best chance to win now.
But there’s no doubt that it could cause some problems down the line as Wilson is 35 years old and the Steelers will likely be back in the quarterback market again soon. Pickett showed flashes in 2022 before struggling with his accuracy and pocket presence in particular in 2023, but he also only played one and a half games without Matt Canada calling the plays. Still, it’s clear the Steelers don’t have as much faith in him as they publicly said after the decision to bring in Wilson, and now his days in Pittsburgh might be numbered if he can’t somehow find a way to impact the team in 2024.
Wilson is clearly a move for the now as he could raise the team’s ceiling in 2024. But the future beyond that is murky at the quarterback position, and it doesn’t seem as if Pickett will end up being in the team’s plans. That makes winning this season that much more important, and we’ll see if Wilson can make that happen after his deal with the Steelers is finalized.
