Russell Wilson in Pittsburgh to Meet With the Steelers + Team Releasing Patrick Peterson
Photo by Brook Ward.
Russell Wilson was photographed at Newark Airport, getting ready to fly to Pittsburgh to meet with the Steelers.
Russell Wilson met with the Giants early Friday morning, before hopping on a plane in Newark to travel to the Steel City. Adam Schefter has confirmed that Russell Wilson is in Pittsburgh meeting with the team. Gerry Dulac originally reported on Thursday (March 7th) that the Steelers were exploring the idea of signing Russell Wilson and were planning to meet with him. No time was wasted as Russ finds himself in Pittsburgh the following day.
Yinzers far and wide are coming together on social media to applaud this move, and rightfully so. If you can get Russell Wilson in the building at or near the vet-minimum (because Denver has to pay him $85 million over the next two years), you absolutely do that. Is he the best quarterback on the roster at that point? Probably so. The Kenny Pickett hate mob will have done their duty at that point.
With all that being said, I’m not exactly ecstatic about this move. I guarantee if I did a deep dive on the social media feeds of every Steeler fan celebrating this meeting, I’d find something on every single one of them saying that he sucks, or he’s a locker room cancer, over the last two years. But, I wake up today, and suddenly we’re Super Bowl contenders because we’re bringing in Russell Wilson?
Are we a better team with Russell Wilson? Yeah, absolutely. Are we Super Bowl contenders? I think that’s a huge stretch. Consider where we’ve struggled offensively over the last few years: a weak offensive line (which causes Kenny Pickett to see ghosts and bail early) and throwing the ball over the middle of the field. What are Russell Wilson’s two biggest weaknesses? Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh bailing clean pockets and avoiding the middle of the field? That’s crazy.
I think ½ of the Hammer DAHN Cowboys Tone Digs said it best on the Pat McAfee show this morning: “Trying to convince yourself that Russ is gonna lead you to a Super Bowl is quite a place to be in as a fan…Basically, if we bring Russ in, that’s admitting that we missed out on a first round QB…we just wasted that pick.”
I echo those sentiments entirely. Steelers fans argue that they’re tired of mediocrity, and they want to be relevant in the postseason again. Trust me, so do I. But, you’re not going to convince me that a 35-year-old QB, past his prime, that has been run out of two franchises (happily I might add), is going to fix that problem. Really think about this: Denver is willing to pay him $85 Million to GO SOMEWHERE ELSE AND NOT PLAY FOR THEM. That, folks, is an NFL record for dead money. And, if you decide to sign him, you’re annihilating the confidence of the quarterback that you drafted in the first round, Kenny Pickett. But, I’m just an overly emotional fan displaying a knee-jerk reaction, so I digress.
In other news, Adam Schefter also reported, on Friday, that the Steelers are going to release CB Patrick Peterson. I predicted this would happen when the offseason first began, so this doesn’t surprise me at all. I was really excited when we brought Pat Pete in, but his play has proven that he is well past his prime at this point in his career. His best moments as a Steeler came playing rover as a safety toward the end of the 2023 season, and even then he was inconsistent. Secondary was already a big hole that needed to be filled, for us, and it got a lot bigger this morning!
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