Russell Wilson is off to a dreadful start to his Broncos career. Here’s why the Pittsburgh Steelers dodged a bullet by not going after him this offseason.
Whether you wanted the Pittsburgh Steelers to go after Russell Wilson during the 2022 offseason or not, I think we can all agree that Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert made the right decision not to pursue the former Super Bowl-winning quarterback. Despite his past resume, Wilson has been worse than anyone could have imaged so far this season.
While many thought Wilson was instantly going to help turn the Denver Broncos into competitors in a crowded AFC West this year, nothing has been further from the case so far. Wilson’s performance on the field has been a downright dumpster fire. Quite honestly, after going back and watching some of his film, his five-game sample with the Broncos really isn’t much different than what we saw in three-and-a-half games from Mitch Trubisky.
Wilson will occasionally make the big throw down the field, but it’s been happening few and far between. There’s no consistency to his game, and he’s way too content checking the ball down underneath. As a result, Wilson’s passing charts look remarkably similar to Trubisky’s so far, via Next Gen Stats.
Steelers dodged a bullet by not going after Wilson
I have to admit, trading for Russell Wilson was at least something that I had pondered early in the 2022 offseason. While I ultimately concluded that I wanted the Steelers to go the ‘rebuild’ route instead, nearly everyone thought Wilson could help make Pittsburgh a playoff team that could have more success. That doesn’t look like it would have been the case.
The Steelers really dodged a bullet here. Not only has Russell Wilson been bad so far in 2022, but the capital that Denver had to give up in order to acquire him now looks absurd:
So the Broncos gave up...
— Tommy Jaggi (@TommyJaggi) October 7, 2022
2 first-round picks (2022, 2023)
2 second-round picks (2022, 2023)
1 fifth-round pick (2022)
TE Noah Fant
QB Drew Lock
... and paid $245M
... for a QB who looks like he should be benched at this point. Russell Wilson has a 36.9 QBR -- worst in the NFL
The Broncos surrendered multiple first and second-round draft choices in the trade, as well as three additional players. Not only did Denver give up too much, but they also made him the second-highest-paid player in all of football.
His $245 million contract includes $165 million guaranteed, and he’s set to make $49 million per season, according to Over the Cap. The earliest that Denver can even think about getting out of his deal is 2025, and even then, the Broncos would be forced to eat a ton of dead money if they did. Unfortunately, for them, Wilson is 33 years old, but under contract until age 40. Yet, he already looks like a QB they need to move on from.
Obviously, Wilson still has plenty of time to turn things around, but he continues to trend in the wrong direction. He was able to put up just 9 points in the Thursday night loss to the Colts (who only scored 12 points) and his team ranks 31st in the NFL with just 15.0 points per game. According to Pro Football Reference, Wilson is dead last in the NFL with a dismal 36.9 QBR.
There’s no guarantee that Kenny Pickett will work out for the Steelers, but spending the 20th overall pick on a player with a manageable rookie contract is much different than forking up a king’s ransom for a player who looks washed up. Pittsburgh really dodged a bullet by not going after Russell Wilson.