Deion Sanders hopes Russell Wilson’s career doesn’t go out with a whimper. Injured and likely to remain the Pittsburgh Steelers’ backup even once fully cleared, Wilson is in danger of having an invisible 2024 season. A free agent after the season ends, it could impact his market and how teams view him, potentially making Wilson a backup for a career that could be quickly winding down.
Joining Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson on Sunday night’s Nightcap, Sanders said he hopes Wilson gets another chance to prove he can play.
“I love Russ. I just want Russ to end right. I like everybody to have a nice landing man. A nice safe landing and I just want my brother to end right. Because I got love for him. And I just feel like he deserves one more chance, especially with the quarterbacking around the NFL right now. He deserve one more shot.”
Wilson signed with Pittsburgh for the chance to play and win. To join the Steelers’ stable culture and be the link that could get them over the hump, a franchise struggling to win a playoff game. Quarterback play since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement had been bumpy and the team started three different names last year: Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph.
A late-July calf injury got Wilson’s summer off track but by the end of the preseason, he was back on the field and poised to enter the regular season as the starter. That changed 72 hours before kickoff, aggravating his calf injury and sitting out the first four games of the year, only dressing as the Steelers’ emergency option. Now, he’s reportedly back to full health.
While the Denver Broncos are on the hook to pay him a hefty salary this year, Wilson could be staring down a depressed market next March. Something Sanders says could be difficult for Wilson to handle.
“When you’ve been making $30-plus [million], it’s hard when you’re making five, six, nine. It’s hard. It’s hard.”
It’s led to speculation that Wilson could ask for a trade that would allow him to get onto the field and increase his value next free agency. It would also keep him relevant as a starting quarterback and not “veteran mentor backup” that comes with a greatly reduced price tag. So far, there’s been no reporting or indication Wilson wants to play elsewhere but the Steelers also haven’t officially named Justin Fields the starter even if such a move feels inevitable and ceremonial.
