Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson started his first season as a starter with the Steelers at 6-1. He finished at 6-6, capped by the team’s latest playoff loss in a string that dates back to 2016.
He’ll be a free agent in March. Does he want to return to Pittsburgh for 2025?
“Obviously, I hope I’m here,” Wilson told reporters after Saturday night’s 28-14 playoff loss to the Ravens. “I trust God, whenever that is. And it’s a special, special place. And I know God brought me here for a reason.”
The decision will be made by a different man upstairs. Or perhaps by some combination of the trinity of owner Art Rooney II, G.M. Omar Khan, and coach Mike Tomlin.
For now, Tomlin wasn’t willing to discuss the future of the quarterback position. He did say that Wilson’s play, like the rest of the team’s, “wasn’t good enough.” Tomlin nevertheless praised Wilson for the “way he led the group out of the locker room after the [first] half.”
The Steelers got Wilson for the one-year veteran minimum of $1.21 million, thanks to the fact that the Broncos owed him $39 million minus whatever he made elsewhere. The first question is whether the Steelers want to try it again or move in a different direction.
Each of their three quarterbacks (Wilson, Justin Fields, and Kyle Allen) have expiring contracts. Last year, they cleared out the depth chart and started over. With the results ultimately no different from 2023, the team might make another big change at the most important position on the team.
If they choose to move on, Wilson apparently will as well.
“I’ve got so much more ball left in me,” Wilson said.
He’s never been a free agent in the traditional sense. Last year, he had the cushion of cash that Denver owed him. This year, the market will determine his value.
Will there be a starting job if Pittsburgh goes in a different direction? Will Wilson accept a backup job? Most former franchise quarterbacks won’t, and don’t.
It will be one of the many storylines in another NFL offseason full of them. And if there’s no spot on the top of a depth chart, Wilson will have some decisions to make about where and how he fits in the game that he still loves.
