Russell Wilson’s hurried deal with Steelers may say a lot about his intentions, and Pittsburgh’s

When the Denver Broncos and Russell Wilson publicized their divorce last week, speculation ran wild on where the aging nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback would land.

The Las Vegas Raiders headlined a Yahoo Sports poll of quarterback agents and league executives’ predictions.

But the one quarterback agent, who overachieved and ranked three top guesses, waited to mention the Raiders until third.

The agent slotted the Atlanta Falcons second.

And the Pittsburgh Steelers, in what now seems prescient, ranked first.

“Obvious need and a playoff team,” the agent texted six days before Wilson and the NFL tweeted apparent confirmations. “This is his best shot to start and have [a] competitive team.”

Wilson seems to agree. Because by Sunday night, roughly 16 hours before the Steelers could legally submit a deal to the league, Wilson tweeted a video.

Its caption: “Year 13. Grateful. @Steelers”

The NFL’s official Twitter account chimed in to its 35 million followers: “.@DangeRussWilson is a Steeler!!”

The marriage is intriguing, Wilson poised to compete with 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett and a likely third quarterback in the building (veteran journeyman Mason Rudolph ended the 2023 season starting for Pittsburgh, but is scheduled to hit free agency).

As interesting is the haste with which the Steelers moved to lock up Wilson. Sure, his $1.2 million veteran minimum salary is an attractive price tag. But Wilson has also found mixed reception in locker rooms and team offices, and his play declined enough to convince the Broncos (and mostly head coach Sean Payton) that $85 million in dead cap space is more palatable than calling upon the services the Broncos will be paying for.

So why agree to a deal so quickly?

It makes sense the Steelers would want to lock up a player they want (especially at Wilson’s bargain-bin price point) in order to plan the rest of their personnel moves and free agency strategy accordingly.

Wilson, though, had more reason to wait. With money as…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/russell-wilsons-hurried-deal-with-steelers-may-say-a-lot-about-his-intentions-and-pittsburghs-053652799.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-03-11 05:36:52

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