The Pittsburgh Steelers made a franchise-altering change this offseason when they signed QB Russell Wilson and jettisoned 2022 first-round QB Kenny Pickett. An organization typically known for patience, continuity, and loyalty made the necessary decisions to improve its roster in an effort to get over a seven-year drought of playoff wins.
For Wilson, it is a new chapter, and perhaps the final chapter of a borderline Hall of Fame career as he seeks to add to his Canton resume after a disappointing two-year stint with the Denver Broncos. Wilson was recently featured on the cover story of Essence, a magazine outlet written for African-American women and discussed his experience as a Black quarterback in the NFL.
“I think about those guys before me, but when I came into the league, there were only a few of us,” Wilson said via the article posted by Okla Jones. “It was Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III, Colin Kaepernick, myself, and a couple others. For me to be able to go to back-to-back Super Bowls, and win one of them, I think I opened up a lot of doors.”
Prior to Wilson, there was just one Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl with Doug Williams winning one for the (then) Washington Redskins in 1988. That is a 25-year gap between Williams and Wilson. Now, the league is experiencing a shift and several of the top quarterbacks are Black. Patrick Mahomes is coming off back-to-back wins in the big game, and 2022 saw the first Super Bowl matchup to feature two Black starting quarterbacks with Mahomes and Jalen Hurts.
The opportunity to play for the most notable and longest-tenured Black head coach in NFL history in Mike Tomlin is something Wilson is very excited about.
“To be able to play for Mike Tomlin; to stand side by side with him and try to accomplish all the goals that I want to accomplish with the Steelers organization, and what that represents for the NFL, is one of the greatest gifts in the world,” he said.
From the moment Wilson stepped foot in the Steelers’ facility on an exploratory visit to find his next team, the bond between him amd Tomlin has been evident. Reports surfaced rather quickly that Wilson talked with Tomlin for hours during that visit and one reporter described the relationship as “almost made in heaven.”
With the level of urgency dialed up in Pittsburgh following another first-round playoff loss, Wilson and Tomlin will have their work cut out for them as expectations continue to elevate for what this team can accomplish.
