Is Steelers signing of Russell Wilson an act of desperation or a stroke of genius?
The Steelers signing of Russell Wilson is a huge gamble that could impact the future of the organization
By Eric Hassel
Well, I guess it's all over but the shouting, as they say. With various reports circulating that the Steelers intend to sign Russell Wilson, I am left to ponder whether this is an act of desperation or a stroke of genius. As with any other free agent signing, only time will tell, I suppose.
This signing, in particular, may have a rather short shelf life in the sense that if the various reports are accurate, the deal is for one year. It's not that we haven't signed free agents to one-year deals before signing Wilson to a one-year deal, but the quarterback position is the most important position on the offensive side of the ball.
This signing is analogous to a double-edged sword, meaning that both edges of the sword are sharp which lends to more versatility than a single-edged sword; however, because both edges of the sword are sharp, there is a greater risk of fracturing than with a single-edged sword.
The Steelers are taking a huge risk by not only signing Wilson, but signing him to only a one-year deal
Let's put aside the obvious for a second, which, to me, is the impact this signing may have not only on Kenny Pickett but on the rest of the offensive players as well, and concentrate on the fact that Wilson is coming off arguably the worst two seasons of his career.
His time with the Denver Broncos was tumultuous, to say the least. His record as the starting QB for the Broncos was eleven wins and nineteen losses while absorbing one hundred sacks. Yikes. Let's think about that for a minute.
Wilson took one hundred sacks in two seasons behind an offensive line that was arguably better than our offensive line over that time frame. Unless we invest significant free-agent dollars and/or significant draft capital in bolstering our offensive line, what makes anyone think Wilson is going to fare any better in Pittsburgh than he did in Denver?
Wilson did throw for forty-two TDs while surrendering eleven INTs over the aforementioned two seasons. Those are encouraging TD numbers but, again, I don't understand why we would sign a thirty-five-year-old QB to a one-year deal who, for all intents and purposes, maybe the week one starter.
I think the desperation part of the equation is this: Omar Khan made it very clear that Pickett would have competition and I'm all for that. Competition at any position can not be a 'bad thing' or at least it should not be perceived in that light; however, how can the competition be fair if your incumbent is going into year number three and your newly signed QB is going into year thirteen?
That's honestly not a fair competition if you ask me, but, since anything is possible, Pickett may outplay Wilson and win the starting job. If Wilson wins the starting job and does not play well, we then have no choice but to turn to Pickett to potentially save the season. If that's not desperation, I don't know what is.
The other desperation part of the equation is this: if the deal is only for one year and Wilson ends up regaining the form he played with during the early years of his career and we end up winning a playoff game, what do we do?
Do we try to re-sign Wilson to a multi-year deal at age thirty-six, do we play the free agency game again, do we draft another QB or do we turn to Pickett and say, 'OK, you sat for a year behind Wilson? Did you learn something?'
On the flip side, I think the genius part of the equation is this: signing Wilson to a one-year deal is a very low-risk, high-reward type of signing. If he plays well, we will have a decision to make and one that will be made when we have to cross that bridge, as it were.
If Wilson plays poorly or doesn't win the starting job over Pickett, then it's tantamount to 'no harm, no foul'. Pickett will have undoubtedly risen to the occasion, embraced the competition, beaten out Wilson, and gained more confidence than he already possesses in the process.
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How can that be a 'bad thing'? I don't see any downside if that scenario plays out. To take it a step further, if that scenario plays out, we let Wilson walk, sign a veteran backup QB and all will be right in Steel City. To wrap up this discussion, I will reiterate something I said at the outset, which is this: it remains to be seen whether this signing is an act of desperation or a stroke of genius.
All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference.