When veteran quarterback Russell Wilson joined the Pittsburgh Steelers on a one-year, $1.21 million deal as a free agent in March, the former Super Bowl-winning quarterback was at his lowest point in his career.
Wilson was cut by the Denver Broncos just two years into a massive contract following a huge trade from Seattle. A potential Hall of Fame head coach in Sean Payton essentially said he wanted nothing to do with Wilson moving forward, and the Broncos took on an $80+ million dead cap charge over the next two years just to get rid of him. It was all bad for Wilson.
A lot of the discussion around the veteran quarterback was that he was washed up and nearing the end of his career — careening towards it, in fact.
Six starts later with the Steelers, Wilson is revitalized and playing some of his best football of the past few years. It’s remarkable what a stable environment with a coaching staff that plays to your strengths can do for the quarterback position.
On Sunday in Cincinnati, just two days after his 36th birthday, Wilson turned back the clock with a vintage performance, throwing for 414 yards and three touchdowns in the 44-38 win over the Bengals, improving the Steelers to 9-3 on the season, including 5-1 with him as the starting quarterback.
Things are trending upward for Wilson, and his stock as a legitimate starting quarterback, and one that could lead the Steelers deep in the playoffs, is at a high. So high, in fact, that after Wilson’s performance against the Bengals, ESPN’s Dan Graziano believes it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Wilson gets a massive contract next offseason in free agency, and that a team outside of Pittsburgh could swoop in and pay him.
In a piece for ESPN.com Monday morning reacting to some questions coming out of Sunday’s Week 13 slate of games, Graziano says it’s not an overreaction that Wilson could get a big contract this offseason.
“Well, define “big.” Wilson turned 36 years old last week, and his two years in Denver before this season in Pittsburgh were downright abysmal. He’s not getting the Dak Prescott four-year, $240 million deal. But could he get the Baker Mayfield three-year, $100 million deal? If he and the Steelers keep winning, that doesn’t seem impossible,” Graziano writes regarding Wilson and his upcoming free agency. “There’s a legitimate question to be asked about whether he’d get that contract from the Steelers, who also like the idea of developing Fields and might not be able to re-sign both if those QBs get interest from other teams.
“But given the number of teams that are going to be looking for quarterbacks, and given that it doesn’t shape up as a deep or particularly inspiring QB draft, it’s not hard to imagine some team deciding Wilson has turned a corner and could be the key to getting them to the playoffs.”
That is certainly a bit off the wall from Graziano, but as he stated, it’s not hard to imagine some team trying to do that this offseason.
That’s a testament to just how good Wilson has been this season for the Steelers. He has proven he can still throw the deep ball with the best of them in the NFL, and he’s been thriving in Pittsburgh under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. He’s back to playing like he did in Seattle, which shouldn’t be much of a surprise, considering the Steelers are built like those Seahawks with an emphasis on the run game with a big, bruising running back, and a star-studded defense that takes the football away.
While the plan seemingly from the jump with Wilson and the Steelers was to sign a long-term extension in the offseason after the 2024 season, nothing Wilson has done this season should have changed that. In fact, it should have only strengthened that thought.
Theoretically, though, as Graziano lays out, an outside team could swoop in and try to give Wilson big money this offseason, which could entice him. But based on how he’s raved about head coach Mike Tomlin and praised the work Arthur Smith has done as offensive coordinator, not to mention being a leader on the team and feeling quite comfortable in the Steel City, it seems hard to fathom Wilson would toss that all away for one final pay day.
“I have no idea whether it will work without the coaching of Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith, who deserve massive credit for what they’re doing with this patchwork quarterback situation. But that doesn’t mean another team won’t try it,” Graziano added.
A team could certainly try it, especially after the way Wilson has performed this season. It will make for an interesting offseason, should Wilson get to free agency. Right now, though, it seems very unlikely Wilson gets to the open market.
