The Pittsburgh Steelers knew they’d need a quarterback heading into the 2024 season. They brought in both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields to try and remedy that problem. Wilson ended up being named the starter before the year began. At the time, expectations for him and the Steelers were all over the place. Some expected Wilson to return to his former self, while others thought the best football of his career was behind him.
It’s hard to be anything but pleasantly surprised with the level Wilson is playing at. He’s only seen six games this year, but he’s now won five of them. In Sunday’s win against the Cincinnati Bengals, Wilson was incredible. He’s doing enough to keep the Steelers ahead in the division and in the race for the first seed in the AFC.
However, Wilson’s status beyond the 2024 season remains up in the air. He and Fields will be free agents in 2025, giving the Steelers some tough decisions. Before the season, it didn’t seem incredibly likely that either of the two would remain with the franchise past this year. Now, it seems more likely that Pittsburgh keeps Wilson around than not. On Wednesday’s episode of Breakfast Ball on Fox Sports, Danny Parkins reiterated that thought.
“I’ll be floored if Russell Wilson isn’t signed to a contract this offseason,” Parkins said. “I don’t think they’re [Steelers] gonna want to franchise tag him because it’s too cost prohibitive. But this is the best quarterback season that a Steelers fan has seen in at least half a decade and in some instances, ever. They were not expecting this. So, why not a three-year, $100 million contract for Russell Wilson?”
In the six games Wilson has played, he’s been very impressive. He’s completing 65.8 percent of his passes and has thrown for 1,626 yards, an average of 271 per game. Wilson has 10 touchdown passes to just three interceptions and a 104.3 passer rating.
Last season with the Denver Broncos, Wilson also put up good numbers, but it wasn’t helping the team win. This year, he’s putting up even better numbers and is 5-1 as a starter, with his only loss coming in a tough divisional game in the snow. As Parkins said, if Wilson keeps this up throughout the rest of the season, why not bring him back? Of course, the price would have to be right, and a potential long-term contract puts Wilson near the age of 40 by the time it ends. Still, given his production, it has to be considered.
