Should Russell Wilson interest the Steelers?
To nobody’s surprise, the Denver Broncos released QB Russell Wilson yesterday. A former Super Bowl-winning Pro Bowler, his tenure in Denver has irreparably damaged his legacy. They paid a king’s ransom to get him and they’re eating the better part of $100 million to move on.
That is part of the reason some believe the Steelers should want him. In effect, he is a cheap option. The Broncos owe him a ton of money for 2024, offset by whatever his next team signs him for. So that team presumably intends to give him a Veteran Salary Benefit contract with Denver spotting the rest.
If the Steelers have the opportunity to sign Wilson for relative peanuts, and almost nothing or perhaps literally nothing to lose, should they jump on that opportunity? If they do, they presumably don’t re-sign Mason Rudolph, or go after Ryan Tannehill or any other veteran.
One imagines Wilson can find a starting job somewhere in the league still in 2024, though. I don’t know that he signs with the Steelers to compete with Kenny Pickett. Presumably, if they were to sign him, they do so with the understanding that he is the starter.
But he is also a cheap starter in a year in which there doesn’t appear to be a true long-term solution at quarterback, depending upon assessments of players such as Justin Fields. We do know that Wilson is substantially cheaper than Fields.
In his final season in Denver, Wilson posted a 7-8 record. He went 297-for-447 passing for 3,070 yards with 26t touchdowns to 8 interceptions. He threw a touchdown on nearly six percent of his attempts, an interception on under two. In addition, he rushed for 341 yards with three more touchdowns. The Broncos averaged 21.8 points per game in Wilson’s starts, tied with the Chiefs for 15th in the NFL.
But with Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy as his top targets, many believe he should have produced more. Obviously nobody believes he’s the same quarterback from his peak in Seattle. He wouldn’t be in this current situation if that were the case. Yet is it worse than the Steelers’ situation?
The Steelers’ 2023 season has been put out of its misery, ending as so many have before in recent years: a disappointing, blowout playoff loss. The only change-up lately is when they miss the playoffs altogether. But with the Buffalo Bills stamping them out in the Wildcard Round, they have another long offseason ahead.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Is Kenny Pickett the guy? Will he get another season’s reprieve without a serious challenge? How will the team address the depth chart? Do they re-sign Mason Rudolph, one of few significant unrestricted free agents?
The Steelers are swirling with more questions this offseason than usual, frankly, though the major free agent list is less substantial than usual. It’s just a matter of…what happens next? Where do they go from here? How do they find the way forward?
