Sources — Russell Wilson to sign free agent deal with Steelers،
Nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback and former Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson is considering signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, league sources told ESPN.
Wilson will sign a team-friendly one-year contract. The Denver Broncos, who announced last week that he would be released, will pay $38 million of his salary while he wears the black and yellow.
In a social media post Sunday evening, Wilson wrote: “Year 13. Grateful. ». Grateful. @Steels pic.twitter.com/0U4Q2sRtXs
–Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) March 11, 2024
Courtesy of the Broncos because he is still under contract until the new league year begins Wednesday, Wilson visited Steelers officials in Pittsburgh for more than six hours Friday. He met, among others, coach Mike Tomlin and new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Both sides had mutual interest which led to a one-year agreement.
Wilson now heads to Pittsburgh with Kenny Pickett, the Steelers' 2022 first-round pick, being the only quarterback currently under contract with the team. Mason Rudolph enters free agency after starting three games for Pittsburgh last season.
Wilson, 35, was informed last week by the Broncos that he would be released Wednesday, ending a tumultuous two-season streak in which Denver went 11-19 in his starts and didn't failed to qualify for the playoffs. He was benched with two games remaining in 2023, finishing the season with 3,070 passing yards to go with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
The Broncos signed Wilson to a five-year, $242.6 million contract after he arrived in a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Seahawks in 2022. Denver will assume an $85 million loss in dead money on its salary cap over the next two seasons due to the release.
Wilson spent 10 seasons in Seattle, making nine Pro Bowls and winning a Super Bowl in 2014. A third-round draft pick of the Seahawks in 2012, he totaled 43,653 yards and 334 touchdowns with 106 interceptions.
Wilson was asked about his future during an appearance on the “I Am Athlete” podcast with former Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall last month and said winning was his highest priority.
Over the next two years, I want to win two [Super Bowls]I want to feel the freshness of that trophy again,” he told Marshall. “I love the city [of Denver] and everything else, but you also want to be [in] a place that wants you too. What I want is to win, that’s all that matters to me.”
He has won against the Steelers during his career. In two starts against Tomlin and Pittsburgh, Wilson is 2-0 with eight touchdown passes, no interceptions and a passer rating of 147.1.
The Steelers' 2024 schedule includes a game in Denver against the Broncos, which could now feature Wilson's return.
