Russell Wilson now has more fodder for Steelers negotiations, even if it means next to nothing

After the 2024-2025 NFL regular season, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has now gone 18 consecutive years without a losing record. Pittsburgh finished the season at 10-7 after collapsing in the second half of the season and being eliminated by their division rivals in the first round of the playoffs. 

Heading into the 2025-2026 season the Steelers may have questions at the quarterback position. Justin Fields declined his option for 2025 with the Steelers and Russell Wilson is currently an unrestricted free agent. Pittsburgh will likely be looking at veteran options for quarterback, including potentially bringing back Wilson — but negotiations between the two parties may have just got a little more complicated. 

Wilson named Pro Bowl replacement 

Russell Wilson has just been named to his 10th career Pro Bowl after Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has been sidelined with injury. Under center this past season, Wilson completed around 64% of his passes, throwing for 2,482 yards and 16 touchdowns. While late in his career, Wilson is not as much of a dual threat as he used to be, he was still able to show a little bit of versatility by rushing for 155 yards and two touchdowns. 

Wilson’s play seems to fit well within the current Steelers system and could be a more than reasonable fit next season. The only reason Pittsburgh would not re-sign Wilson would be if his asking price is too high which is most certainly a possibility. 

With this being Wilson’s 10th Pro Bowl appearance (even though it is by default), he joins elite company. He is now tied for fifth in Pro Bowl appearances by quarterbacks in NFL history. There is no doubt that Wilson and his agent will use this as leverage during free agency negotiations in an attempt to get every dollar he can, even if it is more than he is actually worth at this point in his career.