During the offseason, Russell Wilson has been one of the main talking points.
Two seasons after the team gave the former quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks an unprecedented five-year, $246.2 million contract with a $39 million guarantee in 2024, Wilson will be playing for a different team in the upcoming campaign after agreeing to a one-year contract for the league minimum with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night.
Both parties gain from the agreement. While Sean Payton works to assemble a competitive roster that recently traded its best wide receiver and released one of the NFL’s best safeties, the Broncos must continue to pay Wilson his $39 million this season and will incur a significant salary cap hit. Meanwhile, the Steelers acquire a seasoned quarterback who has won multiple Pro Bowls and travelled during his heyday.
Not to mention that, despite sitting out the final few games of the season, he finished the season with a little over 3,000 yards of passing, 26 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions.
Looking back at how we got here is almost shocking.
Just two seasons after receiving a huge contract from the Denver Broncos, Russell Wilson is currently playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers on a league minimum deal.
It would be virtually unimaginable to think of this as a possibility ahead of the 2022 season. How is it possible for a club to spend so much money on a franchise quarterback when a sizable portion of his pay prevents the organization from signing additional players?skill—aand break up with him in the space of two seasons?
Talking heads in the NFL attributed Russell Wilson’s terrible first season with the Denver Broncos to a rift with former head coach Nathaniel Hackett.
They then went ahead and signed Sean Payton, one of the best offensive brains out there who had achieved tremendous success in New Orleans with Drew Brees, an undersized quarterback with dual-threat potential who had an accurate thrower and a cannon for an arm. That sounds a lot like Wilson at his peak, and many just believed Payton and Wilson would click the way the Broncos head coach did with Brees in their rookie season. For a number of reasons.
However, it was not at all the case. Wilson didn’t exactly light up the stat sheet, but he played like a middle-of-the-pack manager in the middle of the season, showing glimmers of his former greatness when Denver faltered early in the season with a 1-5 record. Though the defence was terrible in some of those early losses, Russell Wilson still managed to throw for three touchdowns and no interceptions, so he received the responsibility despite the defense’s inability to stop anyone.
The nine-time Pro Bowler, however, heated up later and helped the Broncos win five straight games against teams that went on to win the Super Bowl, including the Chiefs, Browns, Bills, and Packers.
Wilson also received a benching following a subpar game against the Houston Texans. It was shortly revealed that he was informed in October that if he didn’t want to modify his $37 million guarantee, he may be benched.
It was evident at that time that Wilson was out of luck for Payton and the Broncos.
Adam Schefter of ESPN Unveils Startling Information Regarding Russell Wilson’s New Contract With The Pittsburgh Steelers The speed at which Wilson was fired by Denver may still surprise many in the NFL, but ESPN Insider Adam Schefter joined Scott Van Pelt on Sunday night and provided some startling information regarding the transaction’s dynamics.
First and foremost, prior to his meeting with the Steelers, Schefter claimed Wilson had a visit with the New York Giants. That was important because it indicates that the Giants are looking at all possibilities to replace Daniel Jones, to whom they recently gave a big contract.
Second, it’s apparent from Schefter that Russell Wilson is joining the Pittsburgh Steelers with the full expectation that he will start for the team in 2024. “I believe Pittsburgh made it evident that it was pursuing Kenny Pickett, and I believe Russell Wilson stays put and doesn’t believe he won’t be the starting quarterback,” Schefter stated.
Although he will now need to work hard and perform well, Russell Wilson is incredibly confident in his skills and what he can provide for the team. I doubt that the man you are discussing, who has played in nine Pro Bowls and one Super Bowl, believes he is heading to Pittsburgh to back up Kenny Pickett.
Then, Schefter described Wilson’s meeting with the Pittsburgh Steelers, during which he spent more than six hours with head coach Mike Tomlin and new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Wilson believes that with their attacking tools in place, their football-running prowess and formidable defence complete the picture.
Wilson obviously thinks he can succeed in Pittsburgh. The concept of free agency is very new, yet it’s off to a great start.