The Steelers Made the Right Move

The Broncos are paying Russell Wilson $38M which gives the Steelers the opportunity to sign Wilson on the veteran minimum ($1.21M). Which reportedly the Steelers intend to do.

At worst, Russell Wilson is still an average quarterback in the NFL with the right players around him. There’s also no doubt that Wilson, at the moment, is a better starting option than Kenny Pickett.

However, the idea could be to give Pickett time (one year or more) behind a veteran quarterback who has experience winning, to help mold Pickett into the quarterback of the future for the Steelers. On a veteran minimum, it’s an excellent deal for a Steelers organization that is not quite a top team in the NFL but is consistently above average each year. Being average, won’t allow the Steelers a top draft pick to spend on a high-valued quarterback. Therefore, adding Wilson will bring on the experience of Wilson, with the slight bump in quarterback play, and paying less than his actual value (thanks to the Broncos).

Pittsburgh had many problems last season besides quarterback play and still need to improve their team overall before they are ready to compete for a Super Bowl. The catch is that if for whatever reason the Steelers are somehow ready for Super Bowl contention they also have a quarterback in Wilson that we know is capable of leading a team to that championship.

It’s slightly similar to the New York Jets situation in signing Aaron Rodgers. The difference is that the Jets were signing Rodgers because they felt as if they were ready for a Super Bowl but lacked the quarterback play to lead them there. However, the goal was never to eliminate the future of Zach Wilson as a Jet, but instead give him the opportunity to learn from an experienced quarterback where he can eventually take the reigns once Rodgers moves on.

These statistics also are with Wilson being the NFL’s 4th most sacked quarterback of last season and Pickett’s top wide receiver (George Pickens) having the NFL’s leading most yards per catch.

The very last factor that should give Steelers fans some ease of mind is that look at what Geno Smith was molded into following two years behind Russell Wilson. Following those two years, Geno produced the best years of his career and won the Comeback Player of the Year. Smith made his Pro-Bowl appearances in his 9th and 10th season in the NFL after two years of backing up Russell Wilson. This could be a similar case for Kenny Pickett and the Steelers.

Besides, what is there to lose? You aren’t getting a completely washed up quarterback that can’t find a place in the league. Even if he was washed up, you aren’t overpaying for him. You already weren’t in Super Bowl contention, needed a quarterback and likely weren’t going to secure any better quarterback on the market.

To me, this is best case scenario for the Pittsburgh Steelers. What are your thoughts on the move?