The Pittsburgh Steelers are making a big bet on the 2024 season. It started when they brought in QB Russell Wilson for a visit the night before the legal tampering period of free agency began, and many of their moves since have been made to ensure Wilson is set up to succeed in Pittsburgh.
During Tuesday morning’s episode of The Carton Show on FS1, Craig Carton was asked if he sees Wilson reclaiming his spot as a top quarterback in the league or fizzling out this year with a disappointing season to potentially end his career as a starter.
“He’s gonna have a great year. This is gonna be a rejuvenation of Russell Wilson’s career, and I feel sure about that,” Carton said. “He’s got all the pieces now put back together to have success. And I’m not even a Russell Wilson guy, but Russell Wilson is going to be the Comeback Player of the Year, and he is going to have a huge year – 4,000-plus yards, they’re going to the playoffs. And if you told me now that they’re fighting for the division in December, I would buy it a hundred percent.”
The Comeback Player of the Year Award is given annually to the player who overcomes adversity to return to stellar performance in the league. Sometimes that will be a player that was injured, or simply a player who didn’t perform very well the year prior only to turn things around. Joe Flacco won it in 2023 for his efforts to help the Cleveland Browns to the playoffs, and he hadn’t started over five games since 2019. The year prior was Geno Smith, when he rejuvenated his career with the Seattle Seahawks after being written off as a second-round bust.
Given the level of adversity Wilson faced over the last two seasons in Denver, he would make an excellent candidate if he can live up to the billing with a strong performance in 2024. The Broncos traded for him and gave up a ton to do so, and then turned around and gave him a massive contract. The next two years were nothing but a disaster for the franchise, and Wilson took the brunt of the blame.
“You have a competent veteran quarterback, with competent veteran coaching, and competent veteran ownership,” Carton said. “He’s got all the pieces now put back together to have success.”
Brian Baldinger said this morning on 93.7 The Fan that this could be the best offensive line Wilson has ever played behind. He is going to have better protection than he has had in years, or possibly ever, and that should pay big dividends for a quarterback who is used to running for his life under pressure. He is currently the fifth-most sacked quarterback of all time.
He also has many of the same ingredients that led to his success with the Seahawks. A strong running game, a top defense, and some solid weapons, including WR George Pickens, WR Roman Wilson, and TE Pat Freiermuth. If he is unable to turn things around in a big way, that really should spell the end of his career.
