Even with the Pittsburgh Steelers agreeing to terms with QB Russell Wilson, all eyes will be on Latrobe, Pa., for training camp this summer. Will Wilson be the starting quarterback or will it be Kenny Pickett? Will Louis Riddick’s prediction of “a firecracker of a competition” hold true? That will be the biggest question on everyone’s lips heading to Saint Vincent College.
Others are questioning if Wilson even has enough left in his tank to make the move worth it for the Steelers. Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce is not among those. On Wednesday’s episode of the New Heights podcast, Travis and Jason Kelce dove into the free agency frenzy. One of the big topics they discussed was Wilson to the Steelers.
“He was still balling in Denver at times,” Travis said. “I’ve seen him dice up some teams and make some good throws. I mean, we lost to Denver in Denver last year… I think Russ has a lot of good football left in him, man. Obviously, he’s got that ‘it’ factor about him that we’ve seen so many times. Sure enough, he’ll bring some veteran presence to that locker room, and we all know how good of a coach [Mike] Tomlin is and how good that defense is. Steelers definitely just got better for sure.”
Indeed, the Broncos did beat the Chiefs in Denver last season, 24-9. Wilson only attempted 19 passes, but he did throw for three touchdowns in that game. He also threw three touchdowns in a Week 2 loss to the Washington Commanders. The Steelers haven’t had a quarterback throw three touchdowns in a single game since Ben Roethlisberger did it in Week 14 of the 2021 season.
If Wilson has plenty of good play in his tank as Travis says, then the Steelers investing just over the league minimum is a phenomenal move. After all, the Steelers won 10 games last season despite lackluster quarterback play for the vast majority of the season. Does Wilson have to be the best quarterback in the league for the Steelers to be successful this season? Absolutely not (but no fan would complain if he did).
The Steelers need better quarterback play to take the next step, which is winning playoff games. Based on last year’s results, the Steelers do not need a top-five quarterback to make that happen. Travis does seem bullish that Wilson will be an above-average quarterback, though.
You can watch the entire episode of New Heights below:
