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Russell Wilson celebrates as he walks off the field after his team’s victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.Photograph: Jeff Dean/AP
In a lot of universes, Russell Wilson’s story is over. Sean Payton and the Broncos were down enough on him at the end of last season, that they paid the quarterback $85m to go away.
On Sunday, Wilson led the Steelers to a 44-38 win over the Bengals, roasting Cincinnati’s porous defense for 414 yards, the second-most passing yards in a game of his career. He finished with three touchdowns and one interception, that sole turnover coming after a botched call.
After being left on the scrapheap this offseason, Wilson has led the Steelers to a 5-1 record as a starter, putting them in first place in a competitive AFC North. It feels fitting that with Wilson’s best performance in years, he also secured Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin’s 18th successive season with a non-losing record.
Tomlin was the lone believer when the rest of the league bailed on the quarterback. Wilson probably heard the talk. Whereas his athleticism had been enough to overcome deficiencies earlier in his career, that had now faded. In Denver, he had become an immobile, inaccurate passer. In short: he was no longer a quarterback you could win with.
With Denver paying the bulk of his salary this season, Wilson was available, essentially, for free. Teams only needed to commit to the league’s minimum salary to bring in the 36-year-old. But Wilson was a distant second option behind Kirk Cousins in free agency, and most quarterback-needy teams instead turned to the draft.
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Even Tomlin hedged his bets, sanctioning a trade for Justin Fields from the Bears after signing Wilson to a one-year contract in free agency. Shortly before the opening week of the season, Wilson sustained a calf injury that kept him out for six weeks. Fields led the Steelers to a winning record, showing justenough that Tomlin could have…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/denver-paid-russell-wilson-84m-081018503.html
Author : The Guardian
Publish date : 2024-12-02 08:10:00
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