The Russell Wilson era with the Pittsburgh Steelers ended poorly. The team lost its final five games with Wilson starting behind center. Then after stressing early in the offseason the organization was strongly considering re-signing Wilson for 2025, the Steelers made little to no effort to make that happen.
Even still, Wilson only had positive things to say about the Steelers during his New York Giants introductory press conference.
The veteran quarterback was also complementary of the signal-caller the Steelers are trying to replace Wilson with this offseason — Aaron Rodgers.
“Aaron Rodgers is a tremendous football player,” Wilson told reporters. “I’m focus on right now. What we can do here. That’s been my focus.”
Wilson played just one season with the Steelers, starting 12 games including the playoffs. The veteran quarterback posted a 6-6 record.
Despite Steelers owner Art Rooney II saying his preference was to re-sign Wilson or Justin Fields this offseason, the team didn’t appear to make a serious attempt to bring back Wilson.
Russell Wilson Wanted to Return to Steelers
The Steelers weren’t true to their word about wanting to bring back Wilson. But apparently the quarterback was being honest this offseason when he told media members he wished to return to the Steelers.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported on March 26 Wilson always wanted to re-sign with the Steelers “right up till the end, before he agreed to a deal with the Giants.”
In each of Wilson’s final five games the Steelers failed to score more than 17 points. On January 4, the offense scored 17 points versus the Cincinnati Bengals when a month earlier, they tallied 44 points in a road victory at Cincinnati.
That likely hurt any chances Wilson had of returning to Pittsburgh in 2025.
Wilson is now set to play for his third different team in four years since the quarterback signed a five-year, $242.6 million extension ahead of the 2022 season.
Wilson Remains Classy After Steelers Exit
Wilson has plenty of things to be bitter about with the Steelers over the past 12 months.
For one, the reason he played 12 games instead of 18 was due to the club’s new strength and conditioning coach, Phil Matusz, who had Wilson pushing a blocking sled during training camp. The drill resulted in a calf strain for the 36-year-old.
Furthermore, the Steelers appear to be unfairly blaming Wilson for the 2024 late-season collapse.
When Wilson returned from his calf ailment, the Steelers went 6-1 in his first seven starts. But the Steelers dropped their last four regular season contests and then lost in the first round of the playoffs.
The organization called for significant changes this offseason. But the general manager, head coach and both coordinators have remained intact.
The roster has seen quite a bit of turnover. But most notably, the Steelers completely cleaned house again at quarterback.
Keep in mind, all of this happened after Wilson joined the Steelers on an extremely friendly team deal. It didn’t cost Wilson anything to do that because the Denver Broncos were set to pay him about $39 million in 2024 after his release.
But Wilson still could have requested more long-term security from the Steelers than a one-year contract. That, though, would have hurt the team’s salary cap situation.
Despite all that, Wilson appears to remain on good terms with the Steelers, at least his former teammates and the fan base.
“Obviously, Pittsburgh was a special place for me,” Wilson told the media, via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “Pittsburgh brought me so much love, man.
“I have so many teammates that I’m super close with. Guys like T.J. [Watt] and Cam [Heyward], Mile Killebrew.”
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