Quarterback Russell Wilson plans to sign with Steelers when new league year begins
Russell Wilson is on his way to a new residence.
The nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback intends to sign a contract worth $1.2 million in 2024 with the Pittsburgh Steelers when the new league year starts on March 13, according to a report from NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport on Sunday night.
On social media, Wilson has already shared a teaser video for his upcoming 13th NFL season, which he will play for the Black and Gold.
Wilson was granted permission to speak with potential teams, and on Friday, he made Pittsburgh his first stop in free agency after learning on March 4 that he would be released by the Broncos at the start of the league season.
The conference was successful, and the Steelers will Now, take advantage of a historically low price on one of the most impactful quarterback possibilities in this year’s free agency class.
Wilson was able to sign a contract with the Steelers at a reduced cost, which made it easier for them to develop around him, as Denver covered the majority of the $39 million that was still owed to the quarterback for the next season.
So long a dominant signal-caller in the NFL, Wilson’s transition from a decade in Seattle to the last two years spent in Denver did not go as planned.
The Broncos sputtered to just 5-12 in his first season there, as he threw for a career-low 16 touchdown passes with 11 interceptions while helming the league’s worst-ranked scoring unit.
He showed flashes of old under new head coach Sean Payton in 2023, but the Broncos still went under .500 (7-8) with him as a starter, and he never seemed a natural fit in the system. Denver made the call to bench him for the final two weeks of the season, a precursor to moving on from him months later despite having to eat $85 million in dead money.
Those developments might have put a damper on Wilson’s shine, and the 35-year-old isn’t as spry as he used to be, but there remains a long track record of excellence to be excited about ahead of his move to Pittsburgh.
Wilson, a one-time Super Bowl champion, has 43,653 passing yards, 334 touchdowns and 106 interceptions with a 100.0 career passer rating. Although there will be competition in the form of third-year QB Kenny Pickett, Wilson adds a dynamic not seen for the Steelers since Ben Roethlisberger — before the Pittsburgh legend started to lose his legs toward the end of his career.
Pickett, the No. 20 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, has gone 14-10 as a starter with a paltry 13 touchdowns to match his 13 interceptions. After recovering from injury, he stayed on the bench in favor of Mason Rudolph down the stretch and in the team’s wild-card playoff loss.
Hence, Pittsburgh’s now pivoting to give Wilson a shot.
Should he shake off the Denver years and deliver anything close to his previous highs, the Steelers have a roster capable of making a return trip to the postseason, even in a brutal AFC North, and perhaps going beyond wild-card weekend for the first time since 2017.