Russell Wilson more than willing to throw Steelers under the bus to stay in Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Steelers are prepared to enter another offseason with uncertainty at quarterback. Last year, they cleaned out their quarterbacks room and brought in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields to lead the way. Now, one or both could hypothetically be on the way out.

Wilson shined after returning from a calf injury suffered during training camp, and led the team to six consecutive wins. However, the season ended with five straight losses, including a Wild Card Round defeat to the rival Baltimore Ravens. Now, with Wilson on a one-year deal, fans and the NFL world are wondering if he will be brought back.

While Wilson said after their season ended that he wants to return to the Steelers, that doesn't sound like it's in the cards.

According to Dejan Kovacevic of DK Pittsburgh Sports, Wilson is "not wanted by the Steelers." Kovacevic cites that while there was a report of Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith "handcuffed" Wilson in the offense, it was put forth by the quarterback's agents to essentially make him look good.

"Absolutely nothing had changed about Smith's approach in the options he offers to quarterbacks, whether Wilson or Justin Fields, and nothing sure was about to change after Wilson ran up 44 points against the Bengals," writes Kovacevic. "But I'm told that Wilson's agents, part of his voluminous entourage, put forth that narrative, and they did so in an apparent attempt to either preserve his status in Pittsburgh or enhance the chance that another team might want him as a starter."

Russell Wilson rumored to be throwing Steelers, Arthur Smith under bus in effort to stay

The talk of Wilson feeling he was "handcuffed" by Smith comes from a report from The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac detailing the deteriorating relationship between the quarterback and offensive coordinator. In Week 13, Wilson threw for 414 yards in the team' 44-38 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. But the week after against the Cleveland Browns, Wilson was held to just 158 yards passing.

According to Dulac, Smith prevented Wilson from changing plays at the line of scrimmage in Week 14.

"According to several sources, Smith did not want Wilson changing plays at the line of scrimmage, like he did in Cincinnati, and deviating from the game plan," writes Dulac. "Wilson’s desire to attack with the pass and throw down the field clashed with Smith’s run-first mentality, causing philosophical friction between the two."

Kovacevic provided a rebuttal of sorts, saying that Wilson wasn't handcuffed in the offense. Instead, it was the quarterback himself who contributed to the lack of production.

"What actually occurred with Wilson, according to those same people inside the team, is that, as all of our naked eyes could plainly tell us, he wasn't following the play calls, he was holding the ball way too long and, within the latter, he no longer could escape defenders in the backfield. I also heard internal concerns expressed -- for the first time, I might add -- about his arm strength," writes Kov He just wasn't good, aside from the odd prayer ball he'd heave up for George Pickens."

On the year, Wilson threw for 2,482 yards, 16 touchdowns, and five interceptions on a 63.7 completion percentage. That was good enough for Wilson to be named to the Pro Bowl, albeit as a replacement for Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

With the quarterback market being rather shallow, it will be interesting to see if there will be a team that signs Wilson. He has been prominently linked to the Las Vegas Raiders, especially with his former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll leading the way. But based on Kovacevic's reporting, Wilson is not going to return to the Steelers, as they don't want him.