While a lot of people thought the Pittsburgh Steelers should pursue a veteran quarterback like Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson, few actually thought they would. So when Gerry Dulac reported that there was mutual interest on Thursday and then reports came about Wilson actually flying to Pittsburgh for a meeting on Friday, it was a surprise.
When ESPN Steelers reporter Brooke Pryor joined Adam Schein on Schein on Sports on Mad Dog Sports Radio Friday, she said it wasn’t just a eye-opening to her.
“I can tell you that based on the text and phone calls that I had yesterday when news started to leak out that there was some interest between the Steelers and Russell Wilson, this really caught a lot of people around the league off guard,” Pryor said. “Because it doesn’t necessarily make a ton of sense for the Steelers when just a week ago I stood in front of Omar Khan and he said, ‘We have full faith in Kenny Pickett.'”
Just over a week ago while Steelers general manager Omar Khan was in Indianapolis for the NFL Combine, he spoke with reporters on a couple of occasions. One of his common refrains was his faith in Pickett to step up in 2024. Khan has never veered from talking about the need to bring in quarterbacks and bringing in competition for Pickett, but he’s been steadfast in his public support of the Steelers’ 2022 first-round pick. So for Pryor, the team meeting with Wilson is a surprise and shows some cracks in that outwardly expressed faith.
“I think that I have been surprised in this exploratory conversation, this visit that is scheduled for today, because it goes against everything the Steelers say,” Pryor said. “But as someone told me at the Combine, ‘Don’t pay attention to what the Steelers say. Look at what they do.’ And what they’re doing now suggests that maybe they have some reservations about Kenny Pickett.”
For most people, having some reservations about Pickett would be putting it nicely. While he protects the ball well, he has simply failed up to this point at the No. 1 goal of offenses: scoring points. Pickett has thrown for 13 career touchdowns in 25 games. Wilson threw for more touchdowns in 2023 (26) than all Steelers quarterbacks combined in the last two seasons (25).
Yet Pryor is not wrong about the surprise a lot of people felt when the reports began coming in about interest between the Steelers and Wilson. This is an organization that prides itself on stability, continuity, and loyalty. So despite the logic of sitting down with Wilson, most people believed this would not happen simply because of what the Steelers have said repeatedly since the end of the season.
Perhaps this is the pressure to address the lack of recent playoff victories. After all, the Steelers made the playoffs last season despite starting three different quarterbacks. When healthy, the defense is great, and new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith might just be able to make the running game even better. So it could be a situation that is ideal for helping Pickett improve (and find out whether he can be a long-term answer in Pittsburgh).
The 2024 Steelers might also be the right situation to plug in a reliable and proven veteran quarterback like Wilson. How many more wins would the Steelers have had last year with twice as many passing touchdowns? We don’t know, but it’s a question the Steelers need to consider if they want to win a playoff game (and more) in 2024.
