The Pittsburgh Steelers made a bit of an unexpected addition just ahead of the start of free agency by agreeing to a one-year contract with QB Russell Wilson. One player who knows a thing or two about Wilson’s abilities is now former Steelers CB Patrick Peterson. The two faced off against each other in the NFC West for years as two of the top talents in the division. Peterson joined the panel at Good Morning Football on Thursday morning and discussed the union of Wilson and the Steelers.
“I think this is a match made in heaven because just like you said with Coach [Mike] Tomlin’s personality, Russ’s personality, when you have a head coach that has the ability to gear his team up…and then you have a quarterback that has that same fire, that can be a dangerous football team,” Peterson said in a clip posted on X by GMFB.
For much of Tomlin’s career he had the luxury of working with a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger. Now he will get another opportunity to do that with Wilson. After his two-year stint in Denver, Wilson isn’t the lock for an eventual Hall of Fame induction that he once was, but he brings championship pedigree back to the organization.
“We all know what Russ is capable of doing,” Peterson said. “I believe this can put Coach Tomlin back in his Ben Roethlisberger days when Ben was able to extend time, able to deliver the ball down the field to wide-open receivers. And also, having a defense that can get off the field that can win in crunch time moments. I believe this is definitely a match made in heaven.”
Wilson’s best days might be behind him with his final year with the Seattle Seahawks being below the bar that he has set for himself. He followed that up with a rough season to start out his tenure in Denver, though he turned things around in 2023 with a 26-touchdown, 8-interception season.
But that is another reason that the Steelers are the perfect fit. He doesn’t need to carry the team week in and week out. The defense is loaded with top talents and the rushing attack turned into one of the best in the league toward the end of the 2023 season.
Wilson reportedly did his homework prior to the exploratory meetings with the Steelers ahead of free agency. It would appear that Peterson was one of those contacts.
“I had an opportunity to text him as well and just give him a little brief synopsis of what he’s getting himself into,” Peterson said. “Just told him how great Coach Tomlin is.”
I am sure he had other contacts that he reached out to as well, but whatever info he got back did the trick. Wilson reportedly wanted to join the organization bad enough to accept no promises in the QB battle with Kenny Pickett.
