Steelers Pressed to Sign Russell Wilson

The Pittsburgh Steelers have their offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith. It seems like Kenny Pickett will at least be one of the quarterbacks, but the rest of the room is far from guaranteed. But the push from many analysts is that the team must look for help, and to many analysts, Russell Wilson could end up being that help.

The latest to fit into this sentiment is ESPN’s Jeff Saturday, who sees Wilson as a perfect fit for Smith’s play action heavy offense.

“Russell Wilson, for Arthur Smith, would be the best fit,” Saturday said. “And because he wants to play under center, he runs play action, and he’s a veteran quarterback, all of the different things. And I know the zone read thing, but Arthur Smith can create a run game as good as anybody and getting that created. So, if you want to talk about what Russell Wilson can do really well. And you’ll have the vet guy in there whose won a bunch of games.”

Denver is just two seasons removed from trading for 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.

A Super Bowl champion and nine-time Pro Bowler with the Seahawks, Wilson has 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, and Wilson has been better with a 98 passer rating in 15 games this season.

But he hasn’t prevented the Broncos from being eliminated from the playoffs and Wilson hasn’t come close to living up to his five-year, $243 million contract.