Russell Wilson, as quarterbacks do, has defined the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season so far. On Saturday, he will also largely define whether their season is over or not. That day, they play as a Wild Card team in the opening round of the playoffs. If Wilson doesn’t play well, the Steelers simply will not win.
And if he plays well in a loss, what then for his future? Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says he may well not even have one. If the Steelers lose to the Ravens, he said on 93.7 The Fan, “you think anybody wants Russell Wilson back next year”?
Wilson’s unfaltering positivity has been on display on Hard Knocks for the past couple months, and Florio talked about that as well. They agreed that it seems to wear thin, perhaps even on Steelers teammates, amid struggles. “He can’t not be that way”, Florio said.
And when his radio host suggested that a Steelers loss on Saturday could be the end of Russell Wilson’s career, he agreed. “You’re right, because nobody’s gonna hand him a starting job, and he’s not gonna go the Joe Flacco route where he takes whatever spot he can on a depth chart. He’ll walk away”.
Are either of them right? It is true that teams weren’t pounding on the door for Russell Wilson last offseason, and the Steelers pushed hardest. It’s quite likely that they didn’t even have to—they may have been his only opportunity to start.
For a while, he appeared to prove the doubters wrong. Wilson did display impressive leadership throughout the Steelers’ offseason. When he finally got on the field, he was making plays, and the Steelers were winning. But with his lapses in judgement and other issues during this four-game losing streak, the varnish has weathered and aged.
The Pittsburgh Steelers framed the signing of Russell Wilson as a move to add competition. Even after trading Kenny Pickett, at his request, they hinted at Justin Fields competing. Yet even when Fields had the team playing pretty well, Mike Tomlin pulled him once Wilson returned from injury.
But how committed are the Steelers to Wilson philosophically? They have no practical commitments—he will be a free agent in March. They tend to give players much longer leashes than many other franchises do, however.
Now, they do use contract status as a pivot point in a rocky relationship. Even Tomlin admitted the Steelers have been getting spotty play from Russell Wilson of late. Does he see a sustainable way forward for the two sides, and at what price?
Needless to say, Wilson’s recent play has greatly injured his market value. He has a history of making the winning plays, but lately, he has been doing the opposite. In particular, he has had some back-breaking turnovers that are out of character for him.
So if the Steelers don’t offer Wilson a starting job, who will? And if nobody does, what does Wilson do? I’m not sure I agree that he wouldn’t settle for competing. He seems to know that beggars can’t be choosers, and he has gone through some humbling years. But it also wouldn’t surprise me if he ends up never playing another game after Saturday.
