It has been a busy Friday, marking the end of the final week of the 2023 NFL league year. With next week comes the legal tampering period on Monday and the official start of the new league year on Wednesday. Free agency has more or less started early for the Steelers as they brought two players in for a visit including C Mitch Morse and QB Russell Wilson. The latter of the two reportedly had a great and lengthy meeting with the Steelers per Josina Anderson on X.
Here is what Anderson wrote:
“Heard Russell Wilson had a great meeting in Pittsburgh so far. I was told he sat with Steelers OC Arthur Smith ‘for hours’ and that ‘he looked happy.’ I was also told Wilson ‘did his homework’ reaching out to some players in advance, per source.”
This is the first we have heard of some details from the meeting. The Steelers have a unique situation with former first-round QB Kenny Pickett just two seasons into his career, so the interest in Wilson came as a surprise.
Some have speculated that the Steelers are just doing their due diligence on a cheap, high-pedigreed player like Wilson, but Anderson’s tweet suggests otherwise.
The Steelers have been as busy as anybody this Friday with another meeting with C Mitch Morse, and they also made a few roster moves including the release of CB Patrick Peterson and WR Allen Robinson II. It is too busy a time to spend “hours” with a guy just to complete due diligence. The interest seems very real and his apparent connection with Smith in the meeting is an interesting nugget of information.
Wilson also reportedly met with the New York Giants prior to his meeting with the Steelers and plans to visit the Las Vegas Raiders next, per the same report from Adam Schefter Friday morning. For what it’s worth, his meeting with the Giants also went well, per a report from Jeremy Fowler.
He is not available to sign with any team until Wednesday when he officially becomes a free agent with the start of the new league year.
