The Pittsburgh Steelers are not sitting idle this offseason; they replaced Matt Canada as offensive coordinator, firing him in 2023, to replace him with the experienced Arthur Smith, and they intend to sign QB Russell Wilson, who in all likelihood starts over Kenny Pickett. Those are two monumental changes from a year ago, and the new league year isn’t even here yet.
But how does it all fit? Former NFL QB Matt Ryan weighed in with Kay Adams on Up and Adams yesterday, sharing his insights. He played under Smith as his head coach and play caller during the 2021 season, so he has some idea.
“It’s gonna be interesting to see if he and Arthur Smith can get onto the same page getting some of those things on schedule”, he said of Wilson. “If you could get Russ to make some more plays in rhythm and then ask him to extend plays and do what he’s always done, I still think there’s juice left in the tank”.
Last year in Denver, Wilson went 297-for-447 passing for 3,070 yards with 26 touchdowns and 8 interceptions in 15 games. The Broncos finished 7-8 in the games he started, though the defense allowed 20-plus points most of the time. He did manage wins over the Chiefs, Bills, Packers, and Browns, all of them playoff teams.
Asked for elaboration on if he believes Wilson fits Smith’s system, Ryan said he thinks so, emphasizing the run game. “Ben Roethlisberger was a guy that could extend plays. They’re gonna run the football. I don’t think they’re gonna be as heavy dropback-pass-dominant as some of those times during Big Ben’s career”.
He added that playing in Pittsburgh means playing in adverse conditions and often in low-scoring games. Ryan suggested that Wilson’s improvisatory skills will benefit in that aspect. “That rhythm passing game sometimes doesn’t show up, so I think running the football, doing some of the off-schedule things that Russ can do, I think it can be a good fit”.
Wilson did not seem to mesh well with head coach Sean Payton, whom the Broncos hired the year after Wilson. Not that continuing to play under Nathaniel Hackett would have made a world of difference, mind you. Now he gets to play for Mike Tomlin, something that sounds like a plus in his view. Tomlin remains a very popular coach among players.
His free agency is a virtually unique circumstance. He’s not even free yet but the Broncos granted him permission to speak to teams. Because they owe him close to $40 million, he can sign with a team for dirt cheap. That gives him the opportunity to choose the best environment suited to try to resurrect his career.
Given how quickly things developed, it’s hard to say how many teams ultimately would have pursued him. We know that some teams expressed interest, particularly the New York Giants, meeting with him before he traveled to Pittsburgh.
He exited the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Friday without an agreement, but late Sunday night he broke the news. Wilson should officially sign a contract to join the Pittsburgh Steelers tomorrow, followed by a press conference.
