The Pittsburgh Steelers could be getting a big addition at quarterback this offseason. At least that’s what one of their former rivals said that he’s hearing.
The team is a quarterback away from being able to compete in the AFC and have been linked to every potential upgrade available this offseason.
Now it seems one of those QBs could actually end up in Pittsburgh.
Former Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Johnson said that he has been told Russell Wilson is going to join the Steelers this offseason.
We gotta work on the Steelers now,” Johnson said on the Nightcap Show. “A little birdie told me, and I said this many shows ago, Russell Wilson’s coming on over to the Steelers.”
When the Denver Broncos traded for Wilson two years ago, it was supposed to get them back into Super Bowl contention after years of suffering through bad quarterback play. They even gave him a huge extension before he took a snap in Denver.
The move didn’t work out. The team went 5-12 in 2022 and fired Nathaniel Hackett before he finished his first season as their head coach.
Things got better in the second year with Wilson. The Broncos won eight games, but ended up benching the quarterback with two games left in the season.
That move seemed to indicate that the team is ready to move on from Wilson and now could be the right time for them to move on at quarterback.
The Broncos didn’t seem to have any kind of plan at the position when they benched Wilson, but they might actually be able to position themselves to get their next QB.
It seems unlikely that they’ll be able to move up in the draft and get any of the top three prospects at the position, but there is a fourth option that has recently seemed to separate him from the rest of the first round crop of QBs.
The Broncos could land J.J. McCarthy to be their franchise QB. They might have to move ahead of the Vikings to get him, but he could be the answer they’re looking for at the position.
Whatever their next move ends up being at quarterback, it looks like it’s time for them to move on from Wilson and the timing could work out well for the Steelers.
How Wilson Would Fit With Steelers
The Steelers still haven’t committed to actually bringing in a new starting quarterback, but Wilson could be an interesting option if they do.
With Wilson still under contract in Denver, there hasn’t been any word on what he would want his next deal to look like.
If the Steelers could get him one a one-year deal, he would give them a chance to let Kenny Pickett to develop on the bench for the season before the team gives him his last chance to prove he should be their starter.
For 2024, Wilson would give Pittsburgh a better chance to end their playoff losing streak than they’d have with Pickett under center.
It has been a couple of years since Wilson has played at a Pro Bowl level, but showed signs that he can still be a dependable starter. He had a completion percentage of 66.4% and a touchdown to interception ratio above 3:1.
With plenty of weapons on the Steelers’ offense and a defense that was good enough in 2023 to keep the team winning while Pickett struggled.
As a short-term option to try and get some playoff wins, the Steelers could certainly do worse than Wilson.
