Steelers Nation, Let’s Ride?

Russell Wilson is a Pittsburgh Steeler. Imagine hearing that sentence a few years ago.

Per reporting from Ian Rapoport, the Steelers are signing the quarterback to a one year deal for $1.2 million after his release from the Denver Broncos.

Wilson visited the Steelers on Friday, spending several hours at the facility. His next destination has been the source of heavy speculation after the Broncos released him last week. Denver had traded five draft picks and three roster players to the Seattle Seahawks ahead of the 2022 season.

During Wilson’s first year in Denver, he threw 16 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, slogging through a 4-11 record as quarterback for the team. He was sacked a league-leading 55 times for 368 yards.

Last season, Wilson performed much better. He threw 26 touchdowns to just 8 interceptions, and improved to 7-8 as quarterback for the struggling Broncos. He led 4 fourth quarter comebacks before he was benched as a result of a contract dispute with the team.

Wilson was benched with two weeks left in the season after he said the Broncos had asked him to alter his injury guarantees in his contract. Wilson refused, and the team started backup Jarrett Stidham for the final two games of the year.

Despite a willingness to return to the Broncos in 2024, the team decided to release Wilson and start fresh. That was not a quick and easy decision; the Broncos will eat $39 million in dead money next season, which will be paid to Wilson as he plays for a new team.

The Steelers became the beneficiary of that awful money management in Denver. With Russ already being paid that high a salary, Wilson was willing and able to sign for an extremely cheap number for his new team. His new deal in Pittsburgh could end up becoming one of the NFL’s best value contracts if all goes well.

As for the Steelers, it may still be a little unclear how the Steelers plan to use Russ. Rapoport broke the news saying that Wilson will serve as a competitor for Kenny Pickett in training camp, but I have a feeling that competition won’t take place.

I have a feeling Wilson would have laughed his way right out of Pittsburgh if the Steelers had told him that he would have to compete with Kenny Pickett.

And he would have every right to. Wilson threw 26 touchdown passes last season alone. That is double the touchdown passes (13) Kenny Pickett has over his entire NFL career.

Pickett, Pittsburgh’s first round pick from 2022, has struggled to take full control of the Steelers quarterback role since the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger. After taking over for Mitch Trubisky at halftime in Week 4 of 2022, Pickett has been mostly underwhelming.

Those in the pro-Pickett camp will point to his winning record and his multiple fourth quarter game-winning drives, and those have been impressive, but Pickett’s overall numbers have been nothing short of abysmal.

Pickett averaged 172.5 passing yards per game last season. His career touchdown rate is 1.8%, a historically low number.

The ultimate nail in the coffin for Pickett was when Mason Rudolph stepped into action. After Pickett went down with injury and the Steelers were forced to yank Mitch Trubisky due to poor play, the Steelers saw their first 30+ point game of the season when he beat the Cincinnati Bengals 34-11.

Rudolph had become the first Steelers quarterback since Roethlisberger to pass for 250+ yards and 2+ touchdown, something Pickett had not done in 24 starts.

Despite Rudolph having the advantage of Matt Canada being fired, the Steelers were still operating with the same style of playbook. Mason just executed it far better than Kenny did.

The signing likely assures that Rudolph, a free agent, will not be coming back to the Steelers in 2024. And that’s probably the best choice for him. He showed that he could be a legit NFL quarterback, or at the very least, higher than a third string guy.

Rudolph will be able to secure a full-time backup role in the league this season, or maybe even a chance to compete for the starter if he plays his cards right.

As for Pickett, the third year man will become backup to Russ. Maybe that ends up paying huge dividends for Pickett down the line in his career. That, of course, is yet to be seen.

Wilson may still have the stench of a failed Broncos run on him, but the derailed ride he took Broncos Country on hides some of impressive stats of his he had during that time.

Last season, Wilson had a passer rating of 98.0, good for 8th in the NFL. Just for reference, that was higher than stars like Justin Herbert, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow.

That’s not nothing, folks.

His 26 touchdowns were 9th in the NFL. His completion percentage (66.4%) was 12th.

I know some Steelers fans really wanted Justin Fields, but I can’t lie I really like this move for the Steelers. From a financial perspective, it’s such a low-risk move.

From a performance perspective, the team could have done a lot worse in acquiring somebody. In fact, they have for the last two years.

Is Russell Wilson a little corny? Probably.

Is he still the type of player he was when he won a Super Bowl in Seatlte? Maybe not.

Is he a huge upgrade over what the Steelers have had? Absolutely.

So, Steelers Nation, let’s ride?