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Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (39) defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (97) and linebacker T.J. Watt (90) celebrate the sacking of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
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Analysis: Russell Wilson signing gives Steelers' aging core one last chance to win together

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Analysis: Russell Wilson signing gives Steelers' aging core one last chance to win together

Remember when Mike Tomlin was asked if his quarterback for the 2024 season was on the roster a few days after the Steelers had their season ended by the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs? It was the first public show of confidence in Kenny Pickett by a member of the Steelers’ brass, but certainly not the last. Just 10 days ago, general manager Omar Khan expressed “full faith” in Pickett and “excitement” about his future with new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith

Khan’s comments came around the same time the Denver Broncos decided to move on from Russell Wilson, triggering a rare opportunity for the Steelers to sign a Super Bowl-winning quarterback for the NFL minimum salary.

It’s costing the Steelers a little more than $1 million to have Wilson for the 2024 season because the Broncos are paying him nearly $40 million not to be their quarterback. It was an opportunity that was too good to pass up, and while it might cause some uncomfortable moments in the new quarterbacks room, the move was made for one simple reason.

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The Steelers want to do right by T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick, their star-studded but aging core of defenders that hasn’t won a playoff game in the five seasons they’ve been together. That’s all that mattered to Tomlin, Khan and team president Art Rooney II.

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Lost amid the flurry of questions and answers from Khan’s session with reporters in Indianapolis late last month, when he was asked directly about pursuing one of the big-name quarterbacks that were available was this: “I can tell you I have an obligation to look at every avenue that’s out there to try to make us a better football team.”

There were other hints along the way that foreshadowed Wilson’s acquisition. When normally reserved offensive lineman Isaac Seumalo gave an interview to the Post-Gazette on locker clean-out day, he spoke about the importance of having stability at the quarterback position.

“The quarterback situation needs to be figured out,” Seumalo said. “That's how the NFL is. We need to have some solidarity there, one way or another, wherever it goes. You can't win in the NFL without that.”

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Seumalo easily could have said: “We just need Pickett to get healthy.” But that would have been disingenuous after third-string quarterback Mason Rudolph led the Steelers on a late three-game winning streak that got the Steelers into the playoffs after Pickett was injured in early December. Especially after Rudolph did it by sparking an offense that had been dormant for most of the season under Pickett’s leadership.

Blame Pickett. Blame Matt Canada. Blame Tomlin for sticking with Canada for far too long.

But the bottom line is the veterans want to win — and they want win now.

Seumalo is 30. Watt is 29. Fitzpatrick is 27. Heyward, who is playing likely his final season in the NFL, is turning 35 soon.

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There is no patience for wait-and-see optimism among them. Khan and the front office are giving a talented core of veterans an opportunity — perhaps one last chance — to make a run in an ultra-competitive AFC.

Wilson is coming off a dysfunctional season in Denver when he was benched late in the season, but he still threw for 26 touchdowns in 15 starts last season. Pickett has thrown for 13 touchdowns in 24 career starts.

The Steelers will say Wilson and Pickett will compete for the starting job this spring and summer, but it feels like it will be an artificial one. It’s hard to imagine Wilson signing with anyone at this late stage of his career to be a backup.

In addition to Wilson playing on a cheap salary, one of the attractive things about acquiring Wilson is his familiarity with the approach the Steelers are taking. They remain a team that is very much built around their defense.

Wilson won his Super Bowl in Seattle with the smothering “Legion of Boom” defense. Wilson’s statistics in 2013, the year the Seahawks beat the Broncos in the Super Bowl, were almost identical to what he posted last season — 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

The Seahawks had a veteran running back in Marshawn Lynch and structured their offense around him. Wilson was asked to manufacture big plays in the passing game off play-action, and he did it extremely well.

It’s how the Steelers would like to operate under Smith, whose offenses in Tennessee were strong with running back Derrick Henry as the focal point of the Titans offense.

Insert Najee Harris and Jalyen Warren in Henry’s shoes, and you get an idea of how Smith would like the Steelers offense to look in 2024. Third-year receiver George Pickens could be the biggest beneficiary of all. He’s a dynamic deep threat whose skills were never maximized under Canada, who for some reason had Pickens run shorter routes closer to the line of scrimmage.

Wilson isn’t the same player he was a decade ago for the Seahawks, but he still has the arm and the touch to make plays in the deep passing game. And perhaps the best part of it all is the Steelers still have plenty of salary cap space to make other moves in free agency to bolster the defense.

It could turn out to be the best free agent signing in Steelers history, or it could be a disaster.

Only one thing seems certain for now: It was a risk the Steelers were willing to take to keep the window open for a core of defenders whose time together is being measured by the sands in an hourglass.

 

Ray Fittipaldo: rfittipaldo@post-gazette.com and rayfitt1 on X.

First Published: March 11, 2024, 12:04 p.m.
Updated: March 11, 2024, 6:20 p.m.

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