The Pittsburgh Steelers brought in two quarterbacks who are in entirely different phases of their careers this offseason. Justin Fields is trying to prove he can become a franchise quarterback, while Russell Wilson is out to prove he can continue being one.
ESPN’s panel on Get Up this morning posed the question of whether or not Russell Wilson’s career is on the line.
“One-hundred percent,” former NFL WR Harry Douglas said. “I firmly believe after his first year in Denver, his career was on the line…Russell Wilson has to understand he has to take care of the football, play within the confines of the offense, make the throws when they’re there, and he’ll be okay. But right now he is playing for his career, especially as a starter.”
Broncos head coach Sean Payton could be seen getting visibly frustrated with Wilson at times last season when he would improvise and play off script. To a certain extent, that is where Wilson has made his money throughout his career. When he escapes the pocket, evades pressure, and heaves the ball down the field for a big gain is when he is at his best.
You don’t want to limit what makes a player special, but there needs to be a balance between that and taking what the defense is giving him. As he ages, his ability to escape the pressure will continue to diminish. Like Ben Roethlisberger, Wilson needs to adapt as he is now well into his 30s.
That doesn’t mean that Fields gives the Steelers a better chance to win, it just means Wilson needs to adapt and strike a balance. Kevin Clark was asked which QB gives the team a better chance to win.
“It’s Russell Wilson. I have very few rules in life, but if a team takes an $85 million cap [hit] to get rid of you, yes, it’s the last-chance saloon for you,” Clark said. “But if I had to build a charitable case for Russell Wilson, I can do that. He was seventh in the NFL in play-action passing last year, which Arthur Smith is obviously…Russell Wilson can salvage his career.”
Wilson has lofty goals for himself, mentioning multiple times this offseason the desire to win more than one Super Bowl as a part of his five-year plan. That seemingly means he wishes to play at least until his age-40 season, but will a team have him in the future if he turns in yet another failure in Pittsburgh?
I would guess probably not, or at least not at the salary that he likely thinks he deserves. The good news is, Wilson said that he has found the fountain of youth in Pittsburgh. While many veterans *ahem* Aaron Rodgers *ahem* took time off during spring practices, Wilson was locked in. He even continued his work during the month-long break the players get before training camp. He was training in the boxing ring, running sprints early in the morning at UCLA’s practice field, and throwing to his former teammate DK Metcalf.
A motivated Wilson with a solid team surrounding him could help elongate his career and earn another contract, in Pittsburgh or otherwise.
