When the Steelers’ season ended last year, everyone knew they needed to upgrade at quarterback. Kenny Pickett hadn’t taken the step most people thought he would, and they weren’t in a position to draft a quarterback. In stepped Russell Wilson, a Super Bowl champion with the Seahawks coming off a rough stint with the Broncos. Wilson’s time in Denver was a mess, being unceremoniously cut this offseason, his career looking to be in jeopardy. Now, he has a chance to change the narrative surrounding him by playing well with the Steelers, but one former player questions if Wilson can survive in Pittsburgh.
Justin Pugh was a guard in the NFL from 2013 to 2023 and is now transitioning into more of an analyst role. Appearing on CBS Sports HQ recently, Pugh spoke about his thoughts on Wilson with the Steelers, raising one major concern that he has about the fit.
”My question with Russ is, will he be able to handle the Pittsburgh mentality, that blue-collar? You can’t have your own locker room. It’s not as star-studded as maybe it once was in Seattle. That’s the one thing I’m nervous about. If things start to go south, and things start to come out where Russ has his own meeting room, he’s doing things how he wants to; that’s the tough part.”
Pugh has these concerns because a big issue many people reportedly had about Wilson during his time in Denver was that he required a lot of accommodations for himself. Some people have called Wilson a diva in the past, but that might not be a fair label. He might have his quirks, but he’s not Antonio Brown. Outside of some issues in Denver, his play on the field has been great, with even his last season with the Broncos looking promising. Also, he’s always involved in charity work, and if that’s a bad thing, then the world has gone completely backward.
Looking at Wilson now, it might be fair to say he doesn’t fit Pittsburgh, but that’s just on the surface. Before the Super Bowl victory, the celebrity wife, and all the money, Wilson was just a kid growing up in Virginia, eventually playing college football at NC State and Wisconsin. All that to say, Wilson is no stranger to blue-collar or grit. It’s easy to look at someone on television and judge them, but the only people who really know Wilson are his teammates, and they seem to have a high opinion of him so far.
The bottom line is that, while Wilson could flop with the Steelers, he was the best option they had for an upgrade at quarterback. Just as well, if he can help mentor Justin Fields to become the Steelers’ quarterback of the future, then his level of play may not matter as much. Looking at the big picture, even if Wilson is good this year, he’s still getting long in the tooth, and there’s no guarantee he’ll have many more good seasons in him. It was worth taking a shot on him as long as Wilson doesn’t take off his uniform in the middle of a game and run off the field.
