One thing you can no longer accuse the Pittsburgh Steelers of is being conservative. Or not doing everything in his power to put himself in a position to win a championship.
That was evident after they pitched and convinced Russell Wilson to join a team whose general manager Omar Khan said less than two weeks ago that he was interested in current quarterback Kenny Peake Te is “confident” and hopes to re-sign the free-agent quarterback. Mason Rudolph unexpectedly led Pittsburgh to its final victory in the 2023 playoffs.
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What to expect from Russell Wilson and the Steelers
Bringing Wilson on board wouldn’t be conservative, even financially — the Broncos will pay him nearly $38 million of his $39 million guaranteed salary. This move signals that the Steelers will now do whatever it takes to win, even if there’s a slim chance the 35-year-old (who has a .386 winning percentage over the past three seasons) will return to championship glory.
It doesn’t matter. Win now and worry about it later. Wilson makes no mistake about it, indicating that the Steelers are thinking “win now” when it comes to the quarterback competition.
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After a decade in Seattle, he compiled an 11-19 record in two seasons with the Broncos. He bounced back from a poor 2022 season to pass for 3,070 yards and 26 touchdowns against just eight interceptions in 2023.
Wilson still lost his job after going 7-8 in Sean Payton’s first season. He led the Broncos to consecutive wins over Green Bay, Kansas City, Buffalo, Minnesota and Cleveland, but lost three of their final four games before being benched.
13 years. grateful. @steelers pic.twitter.com/0U4Q2sRtXs
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) March 11, 2024
But what seemed like a low-risk, no-loss situation for Pittsburgh came with consequences.
By signing Wilson, the Steelers will restart the process of finding a franchise quarterback.
You can’t bring in a nine-time Pro Bowler, or better yet a former Super Bowl champion, on the cheap to compete with a third-year quarterback like Pickett who has thrown just 13 touchdowns in 24 career starts. .
The problem is, Wilson agreeing to a one-year deal doesn’t guarantee he’ll be with the Steelers in 2025. Maybe he’ll play well enough to make more money in free agency, or maybe he’ll fail miserably like he did two years ago and the Steelers won’t want him back.
This was a year-long experiment.
Even if Wilson plays well, he will be 36 in November. How confident are you that a quarterback other than Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or John Elway would win a Super Bowl at that age?
Do you think the Steelers are really just one quarterback away from a championship?
Now, that doesn’t mean it was the wrong decision. Considering Pickett’s performance, his lack of development in his second season and the team’s apparent lack of confidence in Rudolph, this was a no-brainer signing — a no-brainer decision with consequences.
It all depends on your value.
Would you like the opportunity to be more competitive with a Hall of Fame-caliber quarterback later in your career? Or give the No. 20 overall pick in the 2022 draft — a guy the Steelers have been talking about enthusiastically for the better part of 18 months — a capable coordinator and a new position coach. One year?
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If you say win now, no matter the consequences, the answer is Wilson.
If you say you’re not interested in the carousel of possible future quarterbacks, the answer is Pickett, or whoever they might bring in or draft next year. The best-case scenario is to draft a quarterback in 2025 and develop him, which would take until at least 2027 to know if you have the quarterback of the future.
If Wilson leads the Steelers to a championship, you can handle 2027 or even later. But, seriously, what are the chances of that happening?
They have to go to extremes.
The Steelers have a lot going against them if they want to win the Super Bowl this season, besides Wilson’s stellar performance. If you look at the AFC, you have Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, C.J. Stroud, Justin Herbert, and Patrick Mahomes.
Rudolph will likely sign elsewhere, and there’s no doubt that Pickett’s career as a Pittsburgh Steeler is coming to an end. The Steelers must decide on Pickett’s fifth-year option next May. I think Wilson’s huge failure combined with Pickett’s late-season push could change the youngster’s trajectory, but that’s asking a lot.
Wilson’s signing is as much about his performance as it is about his salary.
You rarely get a $40 million quarterback for $1.21 million, so it’s understandable why the Steelers were hesitant about Wilson until news of his imminent release became official and he was allowed to wait until his release. Prior to negotiating with other teams.
Let’s put it this way – a calculated gamble…a calculated gamble that alienated both quarterbacks in the process.
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Losing Pickett doesn’t seem like a big deal right now, but it could be.
He didn’t get much of a chance in his rookie season, and he made nearly every third-team appearance until the preseason. He was then thrown into the game in his 14th career quarter with Matt Canada as his offensive coordinator and instructions from his superiors to weaken the offense. Pickett’s relative success in that environment is astounding.
Last season was a complete disaster the day after preseason, and you can’t help but think Canada had a lot to do with that. How can Pickett be successful if his offense doesn’t fit a Hall of Famer like Ben Roethlisberger?
Pickett couldn’t, and he didn’t. I get it, I get it.
But that should all change this year, with Arthur Smith running the offense and Tom Arth bringing the knowledge he imparted to the Chargers Herbert.
Now, that won’t happen. When you think of Pickett, there’s always a “what if?”
What if the Steelers don’t keep Canuck after the 2022 season? What if Pickett still has a third year to develop? These questions will never be answered now.
Wilson’s signing will only ensure a revolving door of quarterbacks with no end in sight.
The only thing that would make this worthwhile is winning a Super Bowl, because when the Steelers decided to sign Wilson, they ensured they wouldn’t have a stable quarterback position for years to come.
If you’re happy with the consequences, let’s ride…or should I say #HereWeGo?
(Photo: Harry Howe/Getty Images)
