There is a pivotal decision coming up for the Pittsburgh Steelers in just a few months. Before free agency starts, they are going to likely re-sign one of either Russell Wilson or Justin Fields. How they handle that situation will dictate the direction of the franchise.
Invest in the 35-year-old Wilson — he turns 36 in two weeks — and they will obviously be in win-now mode for the foreseeable future. Invest in Fields, who is just 25 years old, and they have plenty of options on how to move forward with their aging, and very expensive, defense.
“That’s gonna depend on what happens the rest of the way,” ESPN insider Dan Graziano said via Unsportsmanlike Friday morning. “[Wilson’s] played three games and I believe he was 14-for-28 in the last one. I don’t know how much you can live on just, ‘Hey, let’s throw it as far as we can and our guys will outfight the defender for it.’ I think there’s a chance that this turns into a pumpkin in terms of Russell Wilson.”
After two years of poor play and a Denver Broncos organization still trying to recover from the financial ramifications of trading for and then signing Wilson to a massive contact extension, people are naturally hesitant to buy into the nine-time Pro Bowler turning his career around. Ten years of Hall of Fame play were erased in the minds of many by a two-year slump in a situation that wasn’t great for him to begin with.
Wilson hasn’t been the most efficient, I’ll give Graziano that much. His 58.8 completion percentage is the lowest of his career if it holds up. But his adjusted net yards per passing attempt is the highest of his career at 8.24. He’s making the completions count with explosive plays. Not all of them have been moon balls, either. Some have been good ball placement on shorter routes to allow his playmakers to gain yards after the catch.
Wilson’s current pace extrapolated out over 17 games would put him right in the range of some of the best seasons of his career.
“I think the plan going in was Russell helps us win now, we can develop Justin Fields for the future,” Graziano said. “But I think there’s a lot of season left and anyone in Pittsburgh would tell you they’re a long way from making that decision.”
Steelers insider Gerry Dulac reported shortly after Wilson was signed that there was mutual interest in an him signing a multi-year deal after the season and he has maintained that to be the case in recent Steelers chats via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Meanwhile, Wilson has claimed he is aiming to play five to seven more seasons. If he gets them their first playoff win since the 2016 season, I think it is a no-brainer the Steelers re-sign him.
