The Pittsburgh Steelers have agreed to a one-year contract with Russell Wilson. With the blessing of Art Rooney II, Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan took Peter King's advice and declined to bring back the duo of Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph in favor of the nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback and former Super Bowl winner. The die is cast, and barring truly bizarre or unfortunate circumstances, Wilson will be under center on opening day in 2024.
The Steelers did a masterful job of throwing the rest of the NFL off their trail by feigning disinterest in Wilson until he arrived in Pittsburgh for a meeting with the organization on Friday. Jordan Schultz from The Schultz Report joined Emmanuel Acho on the FS1 program Speak and said that the meeting between coach and quarterback was the main reason for the Steelers bringing in Wilson.
“He was in the room with Mike Tomlin for a couple of hours,” Schultz said. “They hit it off in a way that was described to me as perfection. When you put Russell Wilson in a room, Acho, as you know, he excels. Mike Tomlin’s the same type of guy. They related on a human level way beyond football.”
It was no secret that Wilson and Sean Payton did not get along. Some of that friction may have been at the behest of the ownership group, who did not care for Wilson's 2022 antics when he arrived in Denver. The relationship was doomed from the moment they hired Payton because Wilson was not a good fit in the pre-snap read rhythm passing game that the Broncos' head coach preferred.
Wilson is 17-26 over his last three seasons with the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos. Dan Orlovsky made the point on ESPN that if Pittsburgh doesn't get the 2022 version of Wilson, they will get a massive upgrade at the position. After one extended meeting, Tomlin and Wilson's comfort level with each other could portend meaningful results in 2024.
“As a result of that, they felt like they could take this to a really successful place,” Schultz continued. “When you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers, you have not had good quarterback play since Ben Roethlisberger. It was a really low-risk move by Pittsburgh to bring in a guy like Russ. They felt like him and Tomlin they could really vibe. I was told it was a perfect relationship, almost made in heaven. That’s why he is on the Steelers today.”
The Steelers were heavily linked as a potential trade partner for Aaron Rodgers in the 2022 offseason after Ben Roethlisberger's retirement. The rumor was that Tomlin did not want to start over with a bridge and rookie quarterback. Pittsburgh did not trade for Rodgers and signed Mitch Trubisky within 5 minutes of the beginning of the 2022 free agency period. Two years into the Pickett experiment and seven seasons removed from his last playoff victory, Tomlin was no longer willing to wait on improved play at quarterback.
Steelers And Russell Wilson Are Betting Big On 2024 Results
The organization did not pay Wilson very much, but they put all their chips in the middle of the table by signing him. Both sides desperately need this move to work. Wilson is gambling on himself. He will be 36 years old in November. A good season in Pittsburgh could earn him one more big payday in the NFL and give him an opportunity to resurrect his status as a winning veteran. He is a solid fit in the Arthur Smith offense and could find the success he craves.
Tomlin and Khan are gambling that they are quarterbacks away from playoff relevance. Wilson is not under contract after this season, and the decision on Pickett's fifth-year option will have to be made after the 2024 season. The 2025 quarterback draft class is rumored to be worse than the 2022 draft class that saw the Steelers select him in the first round. If the Wilson move goes as planned, they will decide without seeing what Pickett can do in Smith's offense.
More must-reads: