Thursday morning was the first we heard of interest between free agent QB Russell Wilson and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette broke the story and included in there that he had at least one other suitor. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, that suitor could be the New York Giants.
The reports broke today of Wilson travelling to Pittsburgh after he was spotted at the Newark airport. It would appear that wasn’t just for a connecting flight but to talk to another team that has a quarterback opening.
Wilson was released by the Denver Broncos and given permission to start seeking his new NFL home earlier than the start of free agency. The legal tampering period begins on Monday and the start of the new league year begins on Wednesday. Bringing in Russell Wilson would provide Kenny Pickett with veteran competition or just outright replace him as the starter.
Schefter also reported that Wilson is likely to continue exploring opportunities other teams, including possibly the Las Vegas Raiders.
Wilson is 35 years old and is unlikely to want to be a backup anywhere in the league at this stage of his career. At one point on a Hall of Fame trajectory — and recently claiming he wants to win more Super Bowls — he has his sights set on recapturing his earlier form.
Many have assumed that Wilson would sign and play for the minimum salary because of the money he is owed by the Denver Broncos, which offsets with whatever he fetches as a free agent this year. Multiple teams being interested is one reason why that is unlikely to happen among other reasons. It could potentially be used against him in future negotiations, and it would represent little commitment on the part of the signing team, making it easy to discard him if there are struggles with no financial ramifications.
If the Steelers are committed to giving Pickett a chance to be the starter, as they have stated all offseason, that could dissuade Wilson from coming to Pittsburgh when he could go to another organization to be the unquestioned starter.
