The Steelers made their Russell Wilson stance fairly clear this offseason. The team launched a committed effort to retain Justin Fields, who had primarily backed up Wilson in 2024, and explored a pricier Sam Darnold addition. Once it became clear Fields would test the market, Pittsburgh became linked to Aaron Rodgers.
As the Rodgers holding pattern persists, Wilson provided some clarity Tuesday by committing to the Giants. The 13-year veteran becoming a New York bridge option points Rodgers to Pittsburgh or continuing to wait out Minnesota, the latter believed to be his preferred option. With Wilson no longer in place behind Rodgers in teams’ free agency queues, the Steelers also have one fewer option in the event Rodgers balks.
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Wilson, however, expressed interest in re-signing with the Steelers on a few occasions after reclaiming his starting job last October. This preference remained well into the offseason as well, as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac indicates the 36-year-old passer wanted to stay in Pittsburgh up until his New York commitment became final. That decision made Wilson a one-and-done with the Steelers, who had turned a 10-3 start into a five-game losing streak that ended with a one-sided playoff loss.
Back in November, rumblings about Steelers interest in re-signing Wilson emerged. At the time, Wilson was amid a stretch featuring six wins in his first seven starts. Wilson then said on multiple occasions he wanted to re-sign with Pittsburgh, as his Pennsylvania tenure started much better than his Colorado stay had. But after five straight losses to close last season, the Steelers shifted their thinking.
Some in the Steelers’ building viewed Wilson as “physically done,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio adds. The team became more interested in Fields’ potential upside than a known commodity like Wilson, and after Fields’ two-year, $40MM Jets deal, Even after that deal, Pittsburgh did not make a renewed pitch to make sure it could re-sign Wilson, only viewing him as a fallback option as Rodgers became the focus. That remained the case leading into Tuesday’s Wilson-Giants agreement.
The Steelers spoke with both Wilson and Fields about re-signings, but it was not hard to see their hierarchy did not reflect the 2024 depth chart. Going into his age-26 season, Fields drew more interest. He landed $30MM guaranteed at signing from the Jets, who will see if he can be a viable Rodgers replacement and harness potential teams observed when he went 11th overall in the 2021 draft. Mike Tomlin preferred Wilson as a passer last season, but the primary Pittsburgh starter clashed with OC Arthur Smith at points. Fields seeing Tomlin call for his benching also undoubtedly factored into the younger Steelers QB’s decision to pass on an offer to stay.
The past three seasons have brought a humbling period for Wilson, who has gone from a player who had appeared on a cruise toward the Hall of Fame to a declining option that suddenly brings some doubt regarding a Canton path. While Wilson may well have done enough in Seattle to secure a spot in Canton, his Denver and Pittsburgh years did not burnish his case.
Still the No. 4 all-time leading rusher among QBs, Wilson is also fourth in sacks taken. Unlike No. 1 on that list (Rodgers), Wilson does not have an array of All-Pros to balance that out. The Giants will bet on Wilson (22nd in 2024 QBR) having enough left to be a functional option in an offense that has largely lacked it since Daniel Jones‘ outlier 2022 season.
Relentlessly positive, Wilson has now seen two teams give up on him in two offseasons. It is not known if the Steelers made Wilson an offer, though they undoubtedly had a price range for a player who made 12 starts for them last season. They did not make much of an effort to re-sign him, per Florio.
The Browns, who hosted Wilson on a visit, may not have made a firm proposal, either. Though, Cleveland having contract parameters in place made sense due to the Giants needing to guarantee Wilson $10.5MM. Available to the Steelers for the veteran minimum due to his Broncos contract covering the rest last year, Wilson commanded a decent 2025 guarantee. He certainly will not lack for motivation going into his Giants debut.