Even before the 2024 season began, most people already knew the Pittsburgh Steelers had upgraded the quarterback position. Both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields looked like clear upgrades over what the Steelers had seen in the couple of years prior.
Even with that in mind, questions were still being asked about the situation. Pittsburgh’s named starter, Wilson, was coming off a rough two-year tenure with the Denver Broncos. While still an upgrade for the Steelers, many talking heads seriously doubted whether Wilson could return to his elite level of play.
Through seven games, it seems that crowd couldn’t have been more wrong.
Russell Wilson has picked up where he left off a couple of years ago with the Seattle Seahawks. He’s led the Steelers to wins in six of his seven starts, with his latest win against the Cleveland Browns being one of the more comfortable victories of the year. His former teammate from Seattle, Bobby Wagner, seemed pretty happy about that. Wagner shared his thoughts on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday.
“I feel like he’s [Russell Wilson] one of those guys that loves to prove people wrong,” Wagner said. “There was a period of time when you had a lot of people that was doubting him… Any stuff like that, I feel like it makes him even more hungrier… It’s fun to see him having fun. I don’t know if he was having fun in Denver. I don’t know if the team embraced him… You can see the connection he has with Coach Tomlin and the players.”
The difference between Wilson in Denver and Pittsburgh is extremely apparent. With the Broncos, Russell Wilson looked more timid and clearly didn’t form the best relationship with their head coach, Sean Payton. It’s clear he feels much more comfortable in Pittsburgh. He’s playing with confidence we haven’t seen since he was in his prime a couple of years ago.
Russell Wilson’s got the offense humming, and he’s starting to play his way into a second contract with the Steelers. His career trajectory is a good reminder that a player’s situation can have just as much to do with their performance as their talent alone. Wilson seems to have found a home in Pittsburgh, and the organization has also embraced him.
