Russell Wilson's suddenly mercurial quarterback journey will continue in Pittsburgh.
The former Seahawks quarterback confirmed via social media Sunday night that he will sign with the Steelers, posting on X "Year 13, Grateful. @Steelers" accompanied with a video of scenes from Acrisure Stadium, the home of the Steelers.
ESPN reported Wilson will sign a one-year deal with the Steelers, with reports stating it will be for the league minimum of $1.21 million, with the Broncos paying the rest of the $39 million he is due in 2024.
Wilson's decision ends a whirlwind of a week that began with Denver announcing on Monday that it had decided to release Wilson after two shaky seasons with the Broncos. That release will not become official until Wednesday for salary-cap reasons.
However, after the announcement of his release the Broncos gave Wilson the permission to negotiate with teams immediately.
Wilson had reportedly visited with the Giants on Thursday and then headed to Pittsburgh. It was rumored he might visit the Raiders.
But Wilson instead came to an agreement with the Steelers before any further visits were necessary, with ESPN reporting he met for six hours with Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin and new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.
In Pittsburgh he will be expected to immediately take over the starting role.
The only other quarterback on Pittsburgh's roster is Kenny Pickett, the 20th overall pick of the 2022 draft who was benched after starting the first 12 games of the 2023 season and did not play in the final five games.
Mason Rudolph, who led the Steelers to three wins down the stretch last season — including a 30-23 win over the Seahawks at Lumen Field — to get the Steelers into the playoffs can be a free agent and is not expected back with Pittsburgh. And the Steelers also recently released Mitchell Trubisky, who started two other games for Pittsburgh last year after Pickett was benched, going 0-2.
Wilson's release from Denver will mean an $85 million dead cap hit for the Broncos, the largest in NFL history.
But Denver's willingness to take that hit also indicated how much of a failure the Broncos — and maybe more specifically, coach Sean Payton — felt Wilson's tenure had become after he was acquired from Seattle for five draft picks and three players in March, 2022.
Wilson went 11-19 with the Broncos, with Denver missing the playoffs each season, continuing a drought that dates to the 2015 season, when Peyton Manning led Denver to a Super Bowl title in his final NFL season.
Now as he moves on to his third team, Wilson will be entrusted with trying to not only get the Steelers back into the postseason but past the wild-card round.
The Steelers' fast finish to last season got Pittsburgh into the wild-card round with a 10-7 record.
But a 31-17 loss at Buffalo seemed to show that the Steelers needed something more to get back to making a significant move in the postseason.
And the reason of late has been a balky offense.
The Steelers ranked sixth in points allowed last season but were 25th in yards gained and 28th in points scored, underscoring the team's issues at quarterback.
And while the Steelers have not had a losing season during the 17-year tenure of coach Mike Tomlin, they have not won a playoff game since 2016, losing their first game four times since then, and not qualifying three other times.
Last year's playoff struggles led to some conjecture that Tomlin's job might be in trouble.
Instead, Tomlin is staying. But his contract runs only through the 2024 season, possibly making this a make-or-break year for his future in Pittsburgh.
And Tomlin figures to ride with Wilson, with each side hoping that the season may lead to a longer stay in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers will hope that Wilson can reclaim the form he had during his nine Pro Bowl seasons in Seattle. And Wilson will hope that in Pittsburgh, he can achieve his goal of winning "two more Super Bowl trophies" in the next five years, as he proclaimed is his aim during an interview on the I Am Athlete podcast last month.
The Steelers do not play Seattle next season. But they do play in Denver, a game that now could be one of the most anticipated of the 2024 season, with Seahawks watching from afar to see if one of the most fabled players in team history can get his career back on course.
