The Pittsburgh Steelers and Russell Wilson “intend to do a longer deal” following the 2024 NFL season, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Wilson, 35, will play the upcoming campaign on a one-year veteran minimum ($1.2 million) contract, though it helps that the Denver Broncos still owe him $39 million this year. The Steelers traded for Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears on Saturday night.
Obviously if Wilson plays well in 2024, the Steelers will look to continue the relationship. The more interesting scenario will be if he struggles or outright loses his starting job to Justin Fields, who has a $25.6 million fifth-year option for 2025 the team could choose to exercise.
If they do, Wilson almost assuredly won’t be back unless he’s willing to take backup quarterback money. The “plan” to sign Wilson to a longer deal after the 2024 season likely would be discarded in such a scenario.
In other words, Wilson is essentially playing the upcoming campaign on a “prove-it” deal no matter what reporting may emerge from the team or his agent. If the Steelers didn’t have any reservations about what he may offer at this point in his career, they would have already signed him to a multiyear deal.
Instead, the team now has the chance to see who emerges from a quarterback battle between Wilson and Fields. The former, a longtime veteran who is a one-time champion and nine-time Pro Bowler, has earned the right to enter training camp as the starter.
But the Steelers would probably love it if the 25-year-old Fields seized the starting gig over the summer and played well this season. That would potentially address the quarterback position for the next decade.
Hitching their wagon to the 35-year-old Wilson—who was not very good in Denver the past two seasons, throwing for 6,594 yards, 42 touchdowns and 19 interceptions while taking a whopping 100 sacks and completing 63.3 percent of his passes in 30 games—is a short-term stopgap at best.
The money owed to him by the Broncos allowed Wilson to find a situation that suited him without worrying about the money, at least in 2024. But if he isn’t good this season, the Steelers aren’t going to commit multiple seasons to him. He has plenty to prove, all while Fields lurks in the background.
2024-03-17 17:37:30
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