Though Russell Wilson is far from his prime and signed to a minimum-level deal, a byproduct of offset language in his Denver Broncos contract, he didn’t sign this early in the offseason to hold a clipboard. Pittsburgh will call Wilson versus Kenny Pickett a true competition but to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who broke the news about Wilson’s impending signing (it’ll become official Wednesday), Wilson came to Pittsburgh to start.
Speaking from his bed on the phone with Scott Van Pelt’s on a late-night edition of SportsCenter, Schefter reacted to the news.
“Pittsburgh made it clear that it was bringing in competition for Kenny Pickett. And I think Russell Wilson doesn’t go anywhere that he doesn’t think that he isn’t gonna be the starter. Now, he’s gonna have to go and earn it and he’s gonna have to play well,” Schefter told Van Pelt. “But Russell Wilson is ultra-confident in his abilities and what he will bring to that franchise. You’re talking about a guy that’s been to nine Pro Bowls. Who has won a Super Bowl.”
Excuse the triple negative in the headline but Schefter’s point is clear. Wilson believes he will win the job. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have signed. Pickett and Wilson will serve as the top two quarterbacks on the Steelers’ roster, the door now likely closed on Mason Rudolph returning to the team.
Wilson has served as a starter for nearly his entire career, 188 of them in total. Among active quarterbacks, only two have started more than him. Aaron Rodgers’ 224 and Matthew Stafford’s 206. Despite being a third round pick in 2012, Wilson started all 16 games as a rookie for the Seattle Seahawks. Remarkably durable, he didn’t miss a game in his entire Seahawks’ regular season career. The only time Wilson’s been benched came last year, sat by Denver late in the year as their playoff dreams went up in smoke, replaced by Jarrett Stidham.
Wilson’s veteran minimum salary gives Pittsburgh no financial obligation to play him. Or heck, even keep him on the roster even after his salary becomes guaranteed following Week One. But given his resume and production compared to Pickett’s, it’s difficult seeing a scenario where Russell Wilson doesn’t start for Pittsburgh to open the season.
“I don’t think he thinks that he’s going to Pittsburgh to back up Kenny Pickett,” Schefter added. “But certainly Kenny Pickett will have the opportunity to play well this summer. And we’ll see how that goes.”
Steelers’ training camp reps come in three sets of fours. A team period during practice will consist of 12 plays. The first group gets the initial four, the second-teamers the next four, and the rest fill in the final four. Pickett and Wilson figure to receive similar reps throughout the summer but how the team handles rotating first-team reps will be telling.
Frankly, the Steelers haven’t had a a true competition in terms of splitting first-team reps in over 20 years. It was a moot point under Ben Roethlisberger, who only ceded first-team reps on rest days, and even in 2022, Mitch Trubisky ran as the team’s starter throughout training camp. Last year, it was fully and completely Kenny Pickett’s job in the summer. It’ll be something we’ll monitor – and statistically track – in what will be one of the NFL’s most-watched training camps of the year.
