Can Russell Wilson snap this ugly curse as a Steelers team captain?

The Steelers announced their team captains for the 2024 season, and it came as little shock to see the usual suspects be given that honor. On defense, the duo of T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward will serve as captains while Miles Killibrew gets the nod for his special teams work. On offense, newcomer Russell Wilson is set to be the captain.

While some considered it a surprise, the Steelers have historically opted to have their offensive captains be their quarterbacks. For the longest time, that meant Ben  Roethlisberger donned the honor during the season. Since his retirement, it has still been awarded to quarterbacks. Unfortunately, it has also meant that for the past two seasons, the team’s offensive captain has been benched.

In 2022, the team had two offensive captains: Najee Harris (his only season as a captain) and free agent addition Mitch Trubisky. That seemed like a weird choice, as many expected Pickett to eventually get the starting job, but it seemed like the Steelers had hopes of sitting him for most of the year. That never materialized though, as Trubisky didn’t play well and was sent to the bench early in the year.

Last year Pickett got the nod as captain despite only being in his second season with the team. We all unfortunately know how that played out. He looked miserable as a starter and was sent to the bench after recovering from his injury in favor of an outperforming Mason Rudolph. Wilson has the tall task of breaking this streak of the offensive captain eventually getting benched.

Can the Steelers avoid benching Russell Wilson?

It seems like a toss-up right now as to how the Steelers will manage the quarterback room. There seem to be some Wilson truthers out there who think he will turn back the clock and be a viable starter this year. Others already want Justin Fields to be the starter. There is a general feeling that Wilson won’t be given an extremely long leash with Fields ready to take snaps if he underperforms.

It would be a bad look to have your offensive captain be benched for three years in a row. I can understand wanting your quarterback to be the captain, but you also shouldn’t force that. Trubisky was a transitional player, so awarding him captain status was never the right move. Pickett was extremely young and unproven, and while there was more justification to give him that distinction, it was still a risky move that didn’t pay off.

Given his previous play and veteran status, it wasn’t shocking to see the team give Wilson the distinction of captain this year. That said, if he struggles and is benched, you have to look at the coaching staff for answers as to why they are making these choices.

Simply put, it is a bad look to have your captain sitting on the bench, and there is little reason to believe that Wilson will snap that streak this year considering all of the factors going against him.