he media connected several quarterbacks to the Pittsburgh Steelers early this offseason, but that was before the Steelers had an offensive coordinator.
The Steelers have since filled their offensive coordinator position with Arthur Smith on January 30. With Smith now in place, ESPN’s Jeff Saturday argued that Pittsburgh should strongly consider adding quarterback Russell Wilson in free agency.
On ESPN’s Get Up on February 1, Saturday addressed the other panelists and stated, “Russell Wilson for Arthur Smith would be the best fit and because he wants to play under center.” He’s looking for play action. He’s an accomplished quarterback. Everything that is distinct.
The Steelers are a lot like Seattle after all those years. Large, strong receiver on the outside, little, swift receiver on the inside, strong running game, championship-winning defense. There has been a significant update.
The Denver Broncos benched Wilson for the final two games of the 2023 regular season, despite the fact that he is not a free agent.Wilson anticipates being released by the Broncos this offseason, according to a December 27 story from Dianna Russini of The Athletic.
Steelers Could Sign Russell Wilson for League Minimum
While Saturday’s Seattle versus Pittsburgh idea is a fair comparison, he’s working under the assumption that Wilson is the same quarterback he was when he played for the Seattle Seahawks.
Simply put, he’s not.
During his first season with Denver in 2022, he threw for a career-low 16 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. Last season, he had 26 touchdowns and dropped his interception total to 8. However, Wilson averaged a career-low 6.9 yards per attempt.
Wilson celebrated his 35th birthday in November. Even in the unlikely event that Smith’s offense turns out to be his ideal fit, he is not expected to get any better.
However, Wilson’s peculiar contract arrangement makes him a potentially enticing quarterback free agency for 2024, according to the ESPN panel on Get Up.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano stated, “as it stands, scheduled to make $39 million fully guaranteed this year, and there are offsets in the contract.” This implies that anything he signs for up to $39 million will come back to the Broncos if they cut him, as we anticipate they will, and he signs somewhere else.
“The truth is that this year, you can convince Russell Wilson to play for a minimum salary.”
Wilson shouldn’t care how he receives the $39 million. Either way, the Broncos are giving it to him. It would therefore be wise for him to consent to accept the league minimum in 2024 from his new team.
That would open up as many other free agency signings for his future team, possibly the Steelers.
But, it’s crucial to remember that, should Wilson be cut by the Broncos, their contract with him ends in 2024. Wilson was only available to the Steelers for the league minimum for a single season.
How Does Wilson Fit With the Pittsburgh Steelers?
Saturday had very specific reasons Wilson will fit nicely in Smith’s offense and with the Steelers.
His colleague, ESPN’s Domonique Foxworth, made it more simple.
According to Foxworth, “I think pretty much everyone fits in Pittsburgh because Mike Tomlin’s personality is consistent with the personality of the Pittsburgh Steelers.” “You arrive and you fit in; it’s similar to the Bill Belichick scenario in that you are aware of what you’re getting into before you arrive.”
The Steelers would also receive a proven quarterback on a low pay.
“When you realize you’re going to pay Russell Wilson league minimum and you don’t have to ask for that much of him, he becomes a lot more attractive,” Foxworth said.
We discuss constructing a system around a low-cost quarterback. You can do the same action around a Super Bowl champion as well as a rookie.
Wilson, like Ben Roethlisberger, won the Super Bowl in 2013 during his second season. In 2014, he guided the Seahawks back to the Super Bowl.
Over his ten seasons with Seattle, Wilson averaged 7.8 yards per attempt, with a 65% completion rate, 292 touchdowns, and 87 interceptions. With 42 touchdowns and 19 interceptions in two seasons with the Broncos, Wilson has a 63.3% completion rate and averages 7.1 yards per pass.
