Steelers limping to finish line could put Russell Wilson’s Pittsburgh future in doubt

After what transpired on Christmas Day, the Pittsburgh Steelers are no longer in first place in the AFC North. Their home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, coupled with the Baltimore Ravens' road blowout of the Houston Texans has Pittsburgh a game back of the Ravens in the AFC North standings at 10-6 with one game remaining. Since they split the season series earlier, they will not be playing again.

Pittsburgh hosts the Cincinnati Bengals, while the Ravens host the Cleveland Browns for their last game of the regular season in Week 18. Baltimore got off to somewhat of a slow start, but getting another MVP-caliber season out of Lamar Jackson has been all the difference in the Ravens' ability to overtake the Steelers in the division. The declining play of Russell Wilson of late has to be concerning.

What I am getting at is the Steelers are within their right to look for yet another new starting quarterback next offseason. Wilson is playing out the last year of the deal he signed with Denver. His backup Justin Fields is about to complete the fourth and final year of the rookie contract he signed with the Chicago Bears back in 2021. I would not be shocked if both quarterbacks were gone in March.

The big question would be who would the Steelers realistically pursue in free agency and the draft.

Russell Wilson is playing his way off Pittsburgh Steelers down the stretch

Look. Even though Wlson's fading play is a cause for concern, he is still going to command more than what the Steelers could look to pay him in free agency. For him to be back, he would have to take somewhat of a hometown discount. Since Fields has been devalued from being an NFL starter, retaining him seems a bit more likely, especially since the Steelers gave up draft equity to land him.

Beyond that, I think the Steelers would entertain potentially signing quarterbacks like Derek Carr, Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold in free agency. The latter is playing out of his mind in Minnesota, but will not come cheap. There is a potential out in Carr's contract with New Orleans, so he too may become available. As for Cousins, Atlanta would have to cut ties with him one year before they can afford to.

What this all comes back to is the Steelers are 100 percent stuck in quarterback purgatory. They win too many games to be in a position to draft a good quarterback. They can try to win big in free agency or by way of a trade again, but those methods for building up one's team into being championship caliber are fleeting. After all, all of the Steelers' best players are homegrown talents.

Wilson is not the player he once was, but he is a sign of something far more symptomatic going on.