ESPN’s Adam Schefter thinks it’s unlikely that both Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields return next season, as their price tags will be higher than expected. Wilson is currently playing on a veteran minimum salary of $1.21 million, thanks to the Denver Broncos being on the hook for nearly $38 million, while Fields has a base salary of $1,616,724 .
“What is Russell Wilson gonna get on the open market?” Schefter asked on the Rothman and Ice podcast. “There’s a lot of teams that need quarterbacks and it’s not considered a great quarterback draft class… Anyone of these teams that needs a quarterback, what are they paying Russell Wilson on the open market?”
Schefter thinks both QBs could cost around $30 million in 2025.
“I think that’s not unreasonable,” Schefter said. “Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones, that kind of thing if Russell has a good season… And by the way, I could make that same argument for Justin Fields. The chances are they’re [the Steelers] not gonna bring back both [Fields and Wilson], but you wanna have one. So you want somebody to kind of distinguish themself, separate themself, and then reward that guy for what he does.”
Through two games, Russell Wilson has played like he did 10 years ago when he starred with the Seattle Seahawks. His ANY/A is at 9.34. His best previous career single-season mark was 7.73, way back in 2015. Last year, Brock Purdy led the entire NFL at 9.01.
Like many, former NFL defensive end Chris Long thought Wilson was washed. That certainly doesn’t appear to be the case. Long owned up to being wrong on the latest episode of the Green Light podcast.
“I know I’ve already said this, but I wanted to make sure. This is my public apology tour on one topic, and that’s Russell Wilson,” Long said. “I’ve gotten a lot of things right over the last year, this is one that I didn’t get right. I said on Dave Damesheck’s pod last year – they asked me point blank – they were like, ‘Will Russell Wilson start a playoff game again?’ I said, ‘No I do not see that happening in Pittsburgh. I think it’s Justin Fields’ team.’ Justin Fields didn’t do quite enough, and Russell might be perfect for what they’re trying to do. He might be perfect for this coordinator, he might be perfect for taking advantage of the shot opportunities – that we didn’t even know were there – the play-action, all the things we talked about when the move was made. I’m not saying that I didn’t understand why the move was made. If you listen to the pod, we were on the side that this is the right move a calendar year ago. Don’t let me skate on the fact that I was dead wrong about Russell Wilson.”
Wilson’s vintage moon ball has been on display in two games. He hit a beauty to George Pickens in stride for a 45-yard gain in last Monday night’s win over the New York Giants.
“It was a great route by him, honestly,” Wilson said of Pickens’ grab. “Great protection. He made a heck of a route. Almost toe-tapped, stayed in, scored there.”
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin praised the Wilson to Pickens connection, saying, “Again, I’m getting used to taking a look at it. I know if you give George an opportunity, he’s going to come down with it. But Russ is doing a lot of things well.”