Russell Wilson has been named the Pittsburgh Steelers’ lone captain on offense, showing how much leadership he has brought to the team. Even though he hasn’t played a regular-season snap with the Steelers, he is their leader on offense. It’s a testament to how valuable his NFL experience is. Cam Heyward, who was also named a captain Monday, seems to believe that Wilson can provide the steady hand the offense has needed.
“I think on the offensive side of the ball, there’s a lot of leadership that was needed,” Heyward told reporters Monday after practice via Steelers Live on Twitter. “I think he’s ready for that. We’ll see how he does. If he has questions, ask me, T.J. [Watt], and Miles [Killebrew].”
Since Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season, that lack of leadership on offense has been felt. The Steelers haven’t had an identity on that side of the ball. They haven’t had anyone who has stepped up and become a leader. Kenny Pickett was supposed to do that, but that was not how things worked out.
Last year, the Steelers went through three different quarterbacks, and that seemed to create some tension at times. This year, they could face a similar problem with Justin Fields right behind Wilson, but the veteran quarterback has seemed happy to mentor Fields. If he ends up being benched, he’ll probably continue to try to use his experience to help lead the team.
Wilson has been in the NFL since 2012, and he’s been to two Super Bowls, winning one. The Steelers just flat out don’t have anyone else on the team with a resumé like that. That kind of experience in the postseason could be invaluable this year, even if Wilson isn’t that caliber of quarterback he once was. That knowledge will crucial, no matter who’s starting.
It doesn’t sound like Wilson has been flaunting his status as a more experienced and accomplished player either. Steelers guard Spencer Anderson told reporters that Wilson’s attitude has actually been the opposite.
“Everybody’s kind of gravitated towards him as soon as he got here from Day 1,” Anderson said. “Obviously, we know his pedigree, his resumé as a player, but he never came in and flaunted any of that. It is not, ‘Hey, I’m Mr. Wilson, you’re beneath me.’ It was always, ‘Hey man, what’s your background? Where’d you come from?'”
That’s the kind of humble and caring attitude that Wilson has seemed to display since arriving in Pittsburgh. He’s recently gotten a bad reputation as a diva, but Wilson hasn’t acted like that at all with the Steelers. Teammates have praised his leadership, and they’ve rewarded his positive demeanor by voting him to be a captain.
Pickett was a captain last year, and in 2022, Mitch Trubisky was named as a captain, so it seems more like the Steelers’ starting quarterback will get voted as a captain no matter what. Pickett basically got benched last year, and Trubisky was benched in 2022, so maybe being named a captain isn’t such a good omen for Wilson.
His career is vastly different from every quarterback the Steelers have had since Roethlisberger though, so Wilson should serve better in this role. Heyward has been a captain for 10 straight years, so if he believes that Wilson can bring some stability to the offense, then maybe it’s true. The Steelers haven’t been good enough on that side of the ball for too long now, and hopefully Wilson can help them improve on and off the field.
