When Russell Wilson signed a five-year, $245 million deal with the Broncos in 2022, he said he wanted to spend the rest of his career in Denver.
“I believe this is a marriage,” he told reporters.
Two years later, that marriage — initially built on a shaky first-time head coach in Nathaniel Hackett and the league’s worst scoring offense in 2022 — is over.
But Wilson certainly has a better foundation to succeed at his next stop: the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he agreed to a paltry $1.21 million deal this week after the Broncos cut him (still paying him nearly $38 this year million owed).
In the Steel City, Wilson will join a team where he is essentially the missing piece.
Russell Wilson speaks at his introductory Steelers press conference Friday afternoon
In the past, his wife Ciara has received unwarranted blame for some of his poor performances
Wilson is now the only QB on the Steelers roster after the team traded Pickett
2021 Defensive Player of the Year TJ Watt mans an imposing defense with the help of Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, while George Pickens is a hugely promising young receiver.
The one-two punch of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren in the backfield also appears competent.
It also certainly doesn’t hurt that Wilson will be playing for Mike Tomlin, now the longest-tenured coach in the league and one of its most respected players.
Even with an unimpressive Kenny Pickett the past two seasons (who was traded to the Eagles on Friday) and a little bit of backup Mason Rudolph, Tomlin still never posted a losing season during his 17 seasons in Pittsburgh.
Now he’s aiming higher than just sneaking into the playoffs, as the team did last year when nine-time Pro Bowler Wilson entered the fray.
“To be a Pittsburgh Steeler and wear the black and gold, it’s a true honor, it’s tradition, it’s history,” Wilson told reporters during his introductory Pittsburgh presser. ‘There are six trophies in there. We’re coming to get a seventh.’
There may be an unfair gap between what Wilson once was and what he thinks he is now.
Kenny Pickett struggled as the Steelers’ QB after the team drafted him in 2022
And Tomlin decided to leave Pickett after signing the veteran Wilson
The 35-year-old is no longer one of the league’s top five quarterbacks, but his team’s failures in Denver have swung public opinion of him a little too far in the other direction.
If you get past the constant barrage of memes poking fun at the self-serious quarterback, you’ll see that he played quite well for the Broncos last season: 26 touchdowns and just eight interceptions show that he can still be an effective player are, if not the best. great that he was.
But that doesn’t mean ‘Mr. Unlimited’ is all set.
While his exorbitant contract with Denver was seen as overpayment for a declining arm, Pittsburgh fans are now label him as a ‘steal’ after signing for almost the league minimum.
Brother Kelce also had high praise for Wilson after he signed with the Steelers.
On their New Heights podcast, Jason said, “Dude, this is the only missing piece in Pittsburgh right now. If Russ is even close to the quarterback he used to be, this is an extremely dangerous team with what they do on the defensive side of the ball.”
Travis added, “I think Russ still has a lot of good football left in him, man. He has the ‘it’ factor we’ve seen so often, and he will certainly bring an experienced presence to the locker room.
Wilson may have tried his hardest, but he put together a pretty good 2023 for Denver
Still, his team missed the playoffs again as they finished just 8-9 under Sean Payton
“We all know how good a coach Tomlin is and how good his defense is. So the Steelers have definitely gotten better.”
It’s been easy to mock Wilson in recent years, with his ridiculous Subway commercial and his admitted he once did high knees during the Broncos’ eight-hour flight to London for a game.
His slogan “Broncos Country, Let’s Ride” was also roundly mocked.
But for Wilson, and by extension his wife Ciara, the research dates back much longer.
During a bye week in 2015, Wilson and his then-girlfriend took a vacation to Mexico, where they were photographed by paparazzi before the quarterback played poorly the following week in a loss to the Cardinals.
Some Seahawks fans found a way to blame Wilson’s singer girlfriend.
Wilson’s recent Subway advert for his ‘Dangerwich’ became the butt of fan jokes online
“Maybe it’s completely unfair to blame Ciara, but after seeing their vacation photos in Mexico, I think she deserves at least some of the blame,” one K said.IRO radio listener wrote.
‘I saw their holiday photos all over the internet and I can’t imagine that a holiday with a stylist and a photographer who stages all your beach photos is very conducive to getting a much-needed farewell week in order.’
Nine years ago, such criticism of Wilson’s partner for his own play was a stretch at best.
Now it is completely null and void.
If Wilson can’t succeed in Pittsburgh — one of the league’s most stable franchises, with one of its smartest coaches — the blame is squarely on him.