Ben Maller of FOX Sports Radio recently said that the Pittsburgh Steelers would’ve been better off keeping Kenny Pickett as their quarterback. Considering how poorly Pickett has looked with the Philadelphia Eagles, it doesn’t feel like that statement is true, but Maller is doubling down on his opinion.
On a recent episode of his show, Maller addressed the Steelers fans who are criticizing his take.
“You’re gonna learn play stupid games, win stupid prizes,” Maller said of Steelers fans. “Russell Wilson is a falling star. He has been a falling star for years. Do not let a falling star fall on you.”
True, Wilson hasn’t been as good over the past few years as he was with the Seattle Seahawks, but he’s been better than Pickett. Last year, Wilson had a fine season. He wasn’t great, but he scored a lot and didn’t turn the ball over much. If he can do those two things with the Steelers, they should have a much better chance at making the playoffs.
However, it seems Maller anticipated that argument being made because he had a response for it during that same episode.
“I got all these people in my ear, ‘You didn’t watch the NFL last year. You don’t know what you’re talking about. Russell Wilson had 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions.’ Okay? That is both true and irrelevant,” he said. “Russell Wilson is the epitome of the legend becoming the fact.”
Maller says Wilson’s level of play last year is irrelevant, but that doesn’t seem to make much sense. If he’s talking about how Wilson is declining and isn’t a good quarterback anymore, then it feels like how he played last year is very relevant. In 2022, Wilson looked like he couldn’t be a starting quarterback anymore. However, in 2023, he proved he could still operate at an adequate level.
It seems like Maller simply doesn’t want to admit that he was just giving a hot take. Saying Wilson isn’t very good is one thing but saying he’s worse than Pickett is unbelievable. Pickett might fall to third-string quarterback with the Eagles. Wilson is at least good enough to be a backup.
Wilson might not have looked sharp in his first bit of preseason action with the Steelers, but he didn’t look bad enough to be relegated to the bench. There’s still one preseason game left too, and Wilson will be suiting up for it. Even if he manages to play better, it’s doubtful Maller will change his opinion, but it would be nice to quiet most of the insane takes people are throwing around.
