Ex-Steelers OL Rips Notion That Russell Wilson Could Be Released Early

Former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Willie Colon thinks it’s “complete BS” that Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson could be released before the season if he gets outplayed by Justin Fields in training camp and the preseason.

The notion was revealed by Adam Schefter of ESPN, who said an executive told him that Wilson could be released before Week 1 if things go haywire.

“It’s BS. It’s all nonsense. The starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers right now is Russell Wilson,” Colon said on The Carton Show.

Former Steeler @willcolon66 reacts to an NFL executive saying Russ could be released if he has a poor training camp:

"It's BS. It's all nonsense. The starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers right now is Russell Wilson." pic.twitter.com/3KJN28LXjz

— The Carton Show (@TheCartonShow) March 21, 2024

Craig Carton also thought Schefter’s report was flat-out silly.

“It’s asinine. You have Russell Wilson at no money, right? Carton said. “Russell Wilson’s an accomplished quarterback. And what’s the purpose of this being out there other than to appease Justin Fields and the Justin Fields camp? And just take my opinion out of it. Just walk through it rationally. You’re the Steelers, you’re every other team. You go out and get Russell Wilson and other complementary pieces to help him, right.

“And the you go, ‘Oh, well there’s some depth to an unproven quarterback who never had success in Chicago.’ You’re every other executive. I’m a reporter. How would you possibly know what he’s thinking about August and Russell Wilson?”

Unless the Steelers select a quarterback in the mid rounds of the draft, it’s hard to see the Steelers moving on from Wilson. It really doesn’t make sense either way. Wilson could still serve as a mentor and backup to Fields if he gets beat out.

Fields will play under the final season of his rookie contract in Pittsburgh in 2024, and he’s set to earn $3.233 million in the upcoming year. After that, it depends on what the Steelers and Omar Khan decide to do with his option. If the club declines it, Fields can become a free agent. If the Steelers pick it up, they’ll owe him $25.664 million, fully guaranteed in 2025.

The Steelers have other options. They can roll the dice with Fields and let him become a free agent at the end of the year. If he doesn’t start in 2024, he will be unlikely to land a huge deal on the free agent open market, and the Steelers may be able to afford to re-sign him.

Even with acquiring Fields, the Steelers still plan on extending Wilson after the 2024 season, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Wilson turns 36 in November

The Steelers signed Wilson for just $1.21 million on the veteran minimum, as Denver owes him nearly $38 million in guaranteed salary in 2024. Dulac reiterated on The Rich Eisen Show that the plan for the Steelers is to sign Wilson long-term after 2024.

“It’s Russ’ intention, and the Steelers intention, and two people have told me this who would know. They want to do a longer deal. Now I don’t know what longer means, but their intentions are to do a longer deal after this year,” Dulac said.