Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson disclosed during his CBS pregame interview with Bill Cowher that the Steelers were the first team to call him after he got released by the Denver Broncos in March. Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin gave Wilson a call at 7:30 a.m., and the Steelers knew from the start that it was a match made in heaven.
“First of all, I’ve just been appreciative of his work for over a decade. His talents, the way he plays the position. His competitive spirit. His resume. All of those things were attractive to us,” Tomlin said on the Pat McAfee Show on Thursday. “And you couple that with a guy that experienced some short-term difficulties. Man, he had something to prove. That was attractive to me, as well, to be quite honest with you. A guy looking for a bounce back. A guy working with an edge. A guy who knows that he can do it and just needs an opportunity to show that again.”
Tomlin made the bold move to insert Russell Wilson into the starting lineup in Week 7. At the time, it was controversial and Tomlin even said he went ranger in the decision.
The move has paid off significantly. Wilson, who is 6-1 as a starter this year, has completed 64.8 % of his passes for 1,784 yards (8.4 yards per pass attempt), 12 touchdowns, three interceptions, and a 103.9 passer rating. He is tied for eighht in EPA per drop back among qualified QBs, per TruMedia.
His vintage moon ball has also been on display. In seven games with Wilson under center, Pittsburgh has the most explosive pass game in the NFL (25% of completions for 20+ yards), according to Dan Orlovsky of ESPN.
“From my perspective, it wasn’t as controversial a decision or as difficult a decision is maybe from the outside. “But I get the benefit of watching him operate every day,” Tomlin told McAfee. “Not only in terms of throwing talents and throwing the football but the unofficial things or the intangible qualities that he brings to the role.”
“I just knew that not only he had the talents to do it, but I thought he had the capabilities of maybe bringing out the best in the individuals that he worked with.”