Russell Wilson has found a new team very quickly, as he plans on signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers when the new league year begins later this week. After a very brief free agency tour, Wilson is headed to the Steel City and will likely takeover as QB1 of the Steelers.
Nine-time Pro-Bowl QB and former Super-Bowl champ Russell Wilson plans to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers, per league sources. Wilson will sign a team-friendly, one-year deal in which the Broncos will wind up paying $38 million of his salary while Wilson wears the black and… pic.twitter.com/eqQC8w0tIK
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2024
Up until a starting quarterback is named, you'll likely hear people within the Steelers organization say things like "Kenny and Russell will compete for the starting job," or "We don't know who will be the starter yet." And that's just coach/GM speak. There is simply no chance that someone like Wilson would sign with a team knowing that there wasn't a guarantee that he'd be a starter. And frankly, even though Russell Wilson isn't close to his normal self, he's a huge upgrade over Kenny Pickett.
And with new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who boasts strong run games and play-action, the marriage between the two parties should work. Russell Wilson has typically always played well in an offense that features an efficient run game, as play-action can be built upon that. I would expect to see a ton of this in Pittsburgh, and the Steelers also have a viable deep-ball target in George Pickens. Russell Wilson proved to still be able to throw the deep ball in 2023, primarily to Courtland Sutton.
I think this does make the Pittsburgh Steelers a better football team, but with Russell Wilson, the Steelers will have to deal with the entire spectrum of what Wilson brings. He'll bring a ton of attention and social media "clout." He'll be someone who loves the spotlight and will almost seem like he cares more about his brand than the team.
On the field, he'll be someone who leads a fourth quarter game-winning drive one week only to throw three ugly interceptions the following week. This is just who Russell Wilson is, and since he is in a bit of decline, the bad is becoming more and more common. However, as a short-term solution, this isn't a bad signing for the Pittsburgh Steelers.