Steelers must break this long-standing precedent with Russell Wilson ASAP

The Steelers have struggled in the quarterback room for a long time. While the Kenny Pickett era was marred with bad play, they really haven’t seen good and consistent quarterback play since before Ben Roethlisberger’s elbow injury. At best, we had an above-average game manager, but never a player that could take a team and put them on his shoulder.

Something had to give, as Pittsburgh blew up the room in the offseason. Both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields brought a new element to this team, and the hope was for at least one of them to prove that they could be the leader of this team for the foreseeable future.

Both players had a shot to prove their worth, and while Fields had some highlights, Wilson has really taken this offense to the next level. While he hasn’t been dynamic every game, he has shown the ability that made him an elite quarterback in Seattle a few seasons ago.

With his contract set to expire after this year, having a plan to bring him back is necessary, even if means breaking this long-standing precedent.

Steelers need to open contract talks with Wilson

Since the time Kevin Colbert took over as GM, the Steelers have had an unofficial rule that once the season starts, no contract talks will continue. This has led to some very last-minute deals to occur for veterans, but the team has stood pat. If you don’t come to terms before the season starts, you aren’t going to get a new deal in the middle of the year.

Omar Khan, so far, has kept this ideal alive, but Wilson should warrant breaking this precedent. Quarterback is the most important position on the field, and Wilson coming to the team has always been a unique situation. Denver is footing the bill for his contract, meaning the Steelers could sign him for just the veteran minimum instead of a traditional prove-it deal or even a multi-year deal that Pittsburgh tends to like to give out.

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Wilson hasn’t been perfect this year, but getting the framework of a new deal in place makes sense. Because of the Denver deal, actually signing the extension now isn’t feasible, but you can have the entire language of the contract worked out and Wilson will only need to sign and let the ink dry once the Steelers season wraps up.

I won’t lay the framework of a new deal in this post, but I would look at something similar to what Kirk Cousins got from Atlanta. While Wilson has his detractors, there really isn’t a better solution for the immediate future. The team won’t be in a position to draft a top name next year. Wilson and the Steelers pair well together and both know it.

If sit on your hands, you likely have to give Wilson the franchise tag in the offseason. That means you have to account for an over 40 million dollar cap hit until an extension is reached. That means you can’t make any free-agent moves until you sort that out. If you don’t, nothing is stopping Wilson from testing free agency to see what his new market is.

Some fans have naturally demanded that Fields get brought back. It makes sense on paper given his age, but it seems like the ship has sailed there. He was benched for Wilson and that has looked like the right decision every week since. He played well enough to earn a shot with another team in 2025.

Following an impressive Bengals game, where you saw Wilson put up more points and offensive yards in the first half than what this team saw for multiple game stretches in previous years, you need to open the door for contract talks. As a sign of goodwill, you can open those discussions now, get the framework in place, and the moment the season ends you can sign on the dotted line. Wilson is far too important to the team right now to risk losing him.