Russell Wilson gives early update on Steelers return fans won't enjoy

The Pittsburgh Steelers resurrected their decaying offense by signing quarterback Russell Wilson in free agency. After years of toiling away with one of the worst scoring offenses in the league, Wilson provided just enough juice for Pittsburgh to jump out to a 10-3 record through Week 14. 

The veteran quarterback was on the mend with a calf injury to start the season, but he took over the starting role in Week 6 and won six of his first seven starts. Then, everything burned down. The Steelers lost four consecutive games to close out the regular season, and they appeared to sleepwalk through a 28-14 loss against the Baltimore Ravens in the wild-card round.

After the rough end to an otherwise promising 2024 campaign, the sentiment among Steelers fans is that they’ve tasted enough of Wilson’s cooking. Unfortunately, they may have to endure it a bit longer. Wilson has made his desire to remain in Pittsburgh clear, and it seems that the Steelers may not be opposed to the idea either.

Steelers may sign Russell Wilson to a multi-year deal

During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Wilson suggested that the two sides have begun initial talks for a contract negotiation.

"Yes, we have been starting to talk a little bit," Wilson said. "We've had our meetings and everything else, just getting into it. So I think that it's an exciting time to be a Pittsburgh Steeler and the opportunity of what we can do." 

With the Denver Broncos still paying his salary, the Steelers were able to sign Wilson to a one-year deal for pennies on the dollar. He may not come nearly as cheap this time around, especially if the two sides agree to a multi-year deal.

Wilson isn’t solely responsible for Pittsburgh’s decline late in the season, but he certainly didn’t elevate the team. The 36-year-old quarterback lost a fumble in three consecutive games to start the losing streak, which included two games with multiple turnovers. In the last four regular season games, Wilson failed to eclipse 217 passing yards and only scored more than one passing touchdown once.

With Wilson at the helm, the Steelers would be at risk of getting stuck in perpetual mediocrity: never good enough to win a Super Bowl, but never bad enough to acquire game-altering talent with a high draft pick.

The Steelers have made three playoff appearances in the past five seasons, and none of them have resulted in a single playoff victory. Pittsburgh was ejected from the tournament in the opening wild-card round each time. Even in the seasons that Pittsburgh missed the playoffs, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has never let the team finish with a losing record. At this stage, that may be hurting the team more than helping it.