The Pittsburgh Steelers went bargain shopping in the offseason while completely revamping their quarterback room. They went from a room that consisted of a first-round pick, a third-round pick, and a relatively expensive backup quarterback to Russell Wilson and Justin Fields for barely any money and a conditional sixth-round pick invested.
The Steelers’ thrift shopping has paid off in a big way, specifically in their 9-3 record. One analyst thinks Wilson might be the best offseason addition in the NFL looking back on it.
“He had 10 different pass catchers in this game, and on the season, in the game that Russell Wilson has started for the Pittsburgh Steelers, they are 5-1. He has 10 touchdowns and three interceptions,” Evan Cohen said Monday via ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike. “There is a chance outside of the running back position, ’cause that’s Saquon [Barkley], and Derrick Henry and Joe Mixon…Russell Wilson may have been the best offseason addition in the entire NFL. And per value-wise, in terms of the money they’re paying him, he may be the single best offseason acquisition, as crazy as that may sound.”
Because of his guaranteed money still owed to him from the Denver Broncos, Wilson is raking in plenty of money this season, just not from the Steelers. Pittsburgh was able to acquire his services for just $1.21 million, which is the lowest possible contract it could offer per the veteran minimum in the CBA.
Wilson barely makes a small dent on the Steelers’ balance sheet, yet he is playing some of the best football of his potential Hall of Fame career. He just posted a 10.0 adjusted net yards per passing attempt (ANY/A) against the Cincinnati Bengals. That is his second ANY/A at or above 10.0 this season. The Steelers struggled to clear the 5.0 mark most of the time during the Kenny Pickett-Matt Canada era, for comparison. Wilson is on track for the highest season ANY/A of his career, currently with a 7.78.
It never made sense to me why he was written off as a washed-up quarterback. Yeah, he had some poor seasons in Denver, but 2023 wasn’t as bad as everyone made it out to be, and he had nearly a decade of proving himself before that. Plenty of quarterbacks have continued their elite play well past 35 years old.
Week 13 was Wilson’s finest work. He completed 29-of-38 passes for 414 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. That pick-six was not his fault at all with a missed penalty that sent George Pickens to the ground before the ball got there. Even with the pick-six, Wilson logged a 126.4 passer rating.
Mike Tomlin likes Justin Fields, but he went against the grain and inserted Wilson as the starter once healthy because he wanted to be great, not just good. The Steelers have a chance to be great with Wilson, that much is very clear by now.
Reports indicate that the Steelers and Wilson have mutual interest in working out a multi-year contract following the season. At this point, it would be silly not to.
