Quarterback Russell Wilson agreed to join the Pittsburgh Steelers last week following a meeting with team brass, and Wilson said during his introductory press conference that he texted Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh’s primary starting quarterback the last two seasons, as soon as he decided to come to Pittsburgh. Wilson said it was great to talk to Pickett about making the team better.
“In terms of Kenny, as soon as I made the decision to come here, I texted Kenny and got to talk to him a little bit and just say, every day we go out there, let’s be the best version of ourselves and try to make this team better. And so that was cool, and I just texted him right away,” Wilson said via the Steelers YouTube channel.
Wilson said Pickett responded positively.
“It was let’s make this team better, let’s do all that stuff, it was positive, it was forward, and let’s go do it.”
Wilson is expected to win Pittsburgh’s starting job although the Steelers will say it’s a competition heading into OTAs and training camp. For what it’s worth, Wilson deflected questions about being the starter in the press conference. Pickett has started 25 games for the Steelers over the past two seasons, but his performance dipped a little bit in 2023. He struggled in the pocket and with his accuracy before suffering an injury that ended his season in Week 13. Pickett’s struggles in 2023 caused the team to sign Wilson, a veteran who’s had a lot of success throughout his career.
Wilson wasn’t great in Denver the last two seasons, but he’s proven himself in the league and should be an upgrade over Pickett. Reaching out to him as soon as he knew he was coming to the Steelers helps the two of them establish a relationship and build some sort of rapport, even though the two of them will technically be competing for QB1.
Making sure there’s no bad blood in the quarterback room and that the two of them support each other makes the locker room stick together and not have to pick sides, which would obviously be a recipe for disaster. Poor team chemistry can sink even the most talented team, and Wilson’s experience in the league can help him come in and be a leader and know how to handle the locker room.
There’s still a lot of offseason left, but the good news is that it seems as if the relationship between Wilson and Pickett is off to a good start. Wilson also said he talked to a lot of defensive players on the team, including Cameron Heyward, T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick about joining the Steelers, and it’s good to hear that he’s already building a relationship and establishing himself in the locker room. If he is QB1, he’s going to need the support and backing of the entire locker room, and his work getting to know his teammates early should help that happen.
