Quarterback Russell Wilson continued to stress on February 1 that he wants his future to be with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Even when asked about the potential to play again for his former head coach Pete Carroll, Wilson remained steadfast in his desire to be back in black and gold.
“Pete’s going to be a great coach, obviously. He’s great at what he does,” Wilson said at the Pro Bowl Games weekend. “But I’m focused on the Steelers.”
“I’m looking forward to hopefully going back to the Steelers, and we’ll see what happens with the rest. I love it in Pittsburgh.”
Wilson will be an unrestricted free agent in March. When the Las Vegas Raiders hired his former head coach, rumors began connecting Wilson with Las Vegas.
Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks drafted Wilson in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft. Wilson played nine seasons under Carroll in Seattle.
Steelers’ Russell Wilson Wants to be Back in Pittsburgh
Wilson started his Steelers tenure 6-1. Since then, he’s talked about returning to Pittsburgh on a multi-year contract.
The veteran signal caller signed a 1-year deal for league minimum with the Steelers last offseason. That’s because the Denver Broncos were going to pay him about $39 million minus the difference on his next contract. So, Wilson elected to sign for the cheapest deal possible to benefit his new team.
That benefit, though, is now gone. Wilson will be seeking fair market value, which Spotrac estimated as a two-year, $77.5 million contract, giving him a $38.7 million average annual salary.
Wilson ended his first season with the Steelers on an extremely sour note, losing the last five games. Still, all he has really talked about is returning.
“Love my teammates! Best days are ahead,” Wilson wrote on January 22 in a quote tweet of a video showing an interview he did on The Pat McAfee Show.
During that interview, Wilson stressed how much he wants to be back with the Steelers.
Steelers Face Decision at Quarterback
Wilson isn’t the only Steelers free agent quarterback that has publicly said he wants to return. Backup Justin Fields has also emphasized how much he enjoyed the 2024 season and has a desire to be back.
The salary cap will restrict the team from signing both Wilson and Fields. Therefore, the Steelers will have to pick one of the quarterbacks.
Wilson is the more accomplished NFL signal caller. But he is also 10 years older, and Fields has more raw talent.
Fields started the first six games of the 2024 season, going 4-2. He displayed better accuracy and limited his turnovers, which were both problems in his early years with the Chicago Bears.
It’s possible that the Steelers could elect to start completely new at quarterback and bring back neither veteran. But owner Art Rooney II told the media on January 27 that he “would prefer” either Wilson or Fields return. He didn’t, however, indicate if he had a preference over one of them.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac has reported multiple times that the Steelers will re-sign Fields. Dulac has also reported that the team will select a quarterback in the middle rounds of the draft.
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