The Pittsburgh Steelers will be signing Russell Wilson when it is possible to sign him on Wednesday, and by doing so, they will land him for the veteran minimum, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. That veteran minimum will be around $1.2 million for Wilson on just that one-year deal.
The Steelers were searching for competition for starting quarterback Kenny Pickett, and Wilson represented some of the strongest available competition on the open market. He could also came at a minuscule price. The Broncos gave Wilson a guaranteed $39 million in salary for the 2024 season, and any amount the Steelers will pay him would simply be removed from Denver’s commitments. So, Denver is on the hook for a massive amount of money now that Wilson is officially taking the veteran minimum. That, of course, helps the Steelers greatly.
Statistically, Wilson had a rebound in 2023 after a rough season in 2022. Last year, Wilson started 15 games for the Broncos, completing 297 of 447 passes (66.4%) for 3,070 yards, 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions for a 98.0 passer rating and a 6.04 adjusted net yards per attempt. Wilson was benched by the Broncos for the stretch run, after a contract dispute between him and the team over his contract guarantee for the 2025 season.
Denver is just two seasons removed from trading for Russell Wilson. The Broncos sent two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick, quarterback Drew Lock, defensive lineman Shelby Harris and tight end Noah Fant to the Seahawks for Wilson on March 16, 2022.
Wilson, a Super Bowl champion and nine-time Pro Bowler with the Seahawks, struggled in Denver. He posted an 84.4 passer rating in 2022, which was by far the lowest mark of his career, and was sacked a league-high 55 times.
The Broncos fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett after just one season, trading more draft picks for former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton this past offseason. Wilson played better, but he did not appear to have a solid relationship with Payton, who has gone out of his way to criticize Wilson this offseason.
The Broncos absorbed a gigantic salary cap hit in order to move on from Wilson. They can minimize it if they release him with a post-June 1 designation, but that would still deal them $85 million in dead cap charges over each the 2024 and 2025 seasons.