Fortunately for fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the quarterback carousel will start to figure itself out soon. Free agency is less than a month away, and new rumors are surfacing every day. As for the Steelers, those rumors have been flying. Amidst all of them, ESPN’s Tim Hasselbeck thinks re-signing Russell Wilson still makes the most sense for the Steelers.
During a segment Tuesday on ESPN’s SportsCenter, Hasselbeck was asked whether Wilson, a pending free agent, is “worth the hassle.”
“I actually think that he is, especially in Pittsburgh,” Hasselbeck said. “Which I still think is the most likely landing spot for him to return.”
Wilson did have some nice moments as the starter in 2024, so he should have some sort of market. While there is a decent chance he remains in Pittsburgh, there will be other teams interested, potentially including the New York Giants.
The Steelers did show they could win with Wilson, but only when things were going well around him. With strong defensive play and a solid running game, Wilson looked like he had rejuvenated his career through his first two months as a starter. Then, when the run game fell flat and the defense couldn’t stop anything, the limitations in his game began to appear.
Despite that, Hasselbeck does think there’s a road map to success for Pittsburgh with Wilson at the helm in 2025.
“Look, his leadership style fit in Pittsburgh,” Hasselbeck said. “His play certainly fit in Pittsburgh. I think when you put those things together, with a team that’s got a really good defense, and the idea that you can win with a 36-year-old quarterback, not a 41-year-old quarterback, somebody that can play winning football at the position.”
Hasselbeck’s point about not being able to win with a 41-year-old quarterback seems like a clear reference to Aaron Rodgers, who’s found his name involved in rumors after the New York Jets recently decided to move forward without him.
The bottom line is, if the Steelers want to win with Wilson, they need to improve the roster around him. As was evident during Pittsburgh’s five-game skid last year, Wilson can’t win games on his own anymore. However, he may be costly in free agency. It could be hard to bolster the rest of the roster with Wilson on the books. That will be a decision the Steelers have to make, and we’ll likely start learning of their answer soon.
