Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback just sign a very bad contract

Russell Wilson joining Steelers a bad sign for Kenny Pickett

PITTSBURGH — Standing in front of a small group of reporters on the second floor of an Indianapolis hotel during the 2024 NFL combine, Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan expressed “full faith” in quarterback Kenny Pickett.

Ten days later, just before midnight, Russell Wilson posted a video montage of Steelers fans waving Terrible Towels set to “Renegade” by Styx and tagged the Steelers on his social media platforms, confirming what league sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday night: The Super Bowl-winning quarterback and nine-time Pro Bowler will soon sign with the Steelers on a one-year, team-friendly deal.

In a move that defies the Steelers’ traditional team-building methods and seemingly spurns a foundational tenet of loyalty, Khan’s actions Sunday night spoke louder than his words from less than two weeks ago.

Steelers brass said repeatedly that it wanted competition for the team’s 2022 first-round pick, but a Super Bowl-winning quarterback — even past his prime — is more than just a camp arm to push Pickett. Pickett, of course, is still under contract, but the competition to retain the starting job just got that much tougher — and it might not be a competition at all.

In signing 35-year-old Wilson, the Steelers are telegraphing their evaluation of Pickett, suggesting he’s on much more tenuous footing than publicly expressed. The move also points to another internal belief: the Steelers are in a win-now mode and believe they’re a quarterback away from erasing a drought of playoff wins that extends all the way back to 2016.

From Wilson’s perspective, the move makes perfect sense. In Pittsburgh, Wilson has a clear path to a starting job in an organization that has a rich, winning tradition and a well-established structure under a future Hall of Fame head coach. Schematically, Wilson’s skill set and new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s tendencies have the potential to be a match made in football heaven.

In his last season in Denver, Wilson had a QBR of 80 when utilizing play activity, compared to a QBR of 40 without it. He tossed 11 touchdowns to one capture attempts with play activity and found the middle value of 7.4 yards per endeavor. Without play activity, Wilson tossed 15 touchdowns to 7 interceptor and found the middle value of 6.7 yards per endeavor.

Amid his three-year residency in Atlanta, Smith’s offenses utilized play activity at the second-highest rate (32%). And in Tennessee, Smith utilized a comparative reasoning, building a adjusted offense much appreciated to a impressive ground amusement secured by Derrick Henry and complementary passing diversion.

In spite of the fact that insulted for his decision-making and battles in his to begin with season in Denver, Wilson appeared a emotional advancement in his moment season earlier to his discharge. Wilson progressed from tossing 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptor in 2022 to 26 touchdowns and eight interceptor in 2023. The Steelers haven’t had a quarterback toss 26 touchdowns in a season since Ben Roethlisberger tossed 33 in 2020.

For all his changes in 2023, Wilson still had a few inconvenience by holding on to the ball for as well long. His normal time to toss (3.06 seconds) was moment longest within the association, ahead of only Justin Areas, and final season, the Steelers battled in pass security, positioning 17th in pass block win rate. Which means including another first-round hostile handle to combine with 2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones is that much more imperative in April’s draft.

In a short-term football sense, the expansion of Wilson may be a boost for the Steelers’ offense. But long term, his marking prompts more questions than it gives answers.

With a team-friendly $1.2 million contract, Wilson makes bounty of monetary sense. In his brief residency as common director, Khan has rapidly built a notoriety for wheeling and managing and finding great deals for short-term arrangements, such as his acquisitions of cornerback Patrick Peterson, collector Allen Robinson, linebacker Kwon Alexander. For a veterans least compensation, Wilson fits the charge as a signature Khan marking.

And whereas Wilson communicated a want to win two more Super Bowls in a later podcast meet, he practically has more days behind him than on the horizon. Wilson isn’t a long-term arrangement, and his expansion to the Steelers’ quarterback room tangles long run of an as of now questionable position.

The Steelers need to make the decision on Pickett’s fifth-year alternative in May 2025. In the event that Wilson does in fact arrive the beginning work, assessing Pickett and his capabilities exterior a Matt Canada offense gets to be that much harder. And on the off chance that Pickett doesn’t get any noteworthy playing time this year, picking up that alternative — which begun at $22 million for quarterbacks this season — would be fiscally untrustworthy. Does that cruel the Steelers would be back within the market for a quarterback within the 2025 draft? Or perhaps in 2026 after Pickett — or indeed Wilson — plays a last season?

The secure alternative was once the foremost anticipated one:
re-signing longtime reinforcement and late-season starter Mason Rudolph for a genuine competition with Pickett, possibly indeed one with the scales somewhat tipped in Pickett’s favor. Instep, Wilson’s marking all but close the entryway on Rudolph’s return, and agreeing to a association source, he’s anticipated to test free organization.

Regularly traditionalist in their approach to free office with a inclination of building through the draft, the Steelers are spurning tradition for what they trust will be a quick-fix bargain. It may well be the primary step to breaking out of a cycle of mediocrity. Or it might cement their put in a directionless, post-Roethlisberger limbo.