It goes without saying that the Kenny Pickett era in Pittsburgh didn’t exactly go according to plan.
Drafted from Pitt to be Ben Roethlisberger 2.0, patience quickly wore thin on Pickett as it appeared he was much more of a work-in-progress than the Steelers had realized.
Shipped out to Philadelphia earlier this offseason, both Pickett and the Steelers can now start fresh.
For Pittsburgh, starting fresh – at least temporarily – means handing the reigns over to veteran Russell Wilson.
Much like Pickett, Wilson is trying to turn his career around. Although, mentioning the two in the same sentence isn’t fair to Mr. Unlimited when it comes to actual accomplishments on the field.
It’s crazy to think, but Wilson isn’t THAT far removed by playing at an MVP level.
We’ll see how all of this turns out. But for Pittsburgh, signing the hungry-Wilson to a low-risk, high-reward $1.21 million deal made all the sense in the world.
Also low-risk, high-reward was their trade for failed Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields.
Unsurprisingly, the Steelers declined to pick up Fields’ $25 million fifth-year option.
While slated to be the backup, it’s safe to assume Fields will see a little bit of playing time in 2024 – potentially in some Taysom Hill-type packages.
Head coach Mike Tomlin is excited for some good old-fashioned competition between the two.
“We’re not resistant to competition, but as I’ve mentioned several times of late, I just think it’s appropriate to establish positioning – and the term that I’ve used is Russell has pole position,” Tomlin said.
“And why do I use that term? Because during this time where we are not formally working, I just think it’s beneficial. His experience in the National Football League, his process has been honed and perfected.”
“All the things that people really committed to winning do this time of the year, Russell has those resources, that structure,” Tomlin continued. “And so that’s why I say he has pole position. It just creates a synergy that I think is good for this time of year.”
“When it’s time to compete and we get in training camp-like settings and we’re going to stadiums and so forth, obviously Justin will be given an opportunity to show people.”
As Tomlin said, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with healthy competition … It 100% brings out the best in everybody.
As for Wilson, he is thrilled to play for a coach as respected and revered as Tomlin.
“It’s one of the greatest gifts in the world,” Wilson told Essence in a recent interview. “To play 13 years in the NFL has been a dream come true … To be able to play for Mike Tomlin; to stand side by side with him and try to accomplish all the goals that I want to accomplish with the Steelers organization, and what that represents for the NFL, is one of the greatest gifts in the world.”
Tomlin is entering his 18th season in the NFL and has enjoyed consistent success. However, success is all relative and the fact of the matter is Tomlin has only won one Super Bowl.
Always finishing .500 or better is all well and good, but the Steelers fan base is hungry for another Lombardi Trophy.
It may be a tad unrealistic to expect Wilson to lead Pittsburgh back to the promised land.
However, despite all the knocks and jokes and his expense over the past two seasons, Wilson does have a winning pedigree and is hungry to turn the narrative of his demise around.
The question is whether he’s just too far over the hill to do so?
What do you think of Wilson in Pittsburgh?
How much does he truly have left in the tank?
Will he start the entire season and be effective? … Or is it only a matter of time before Fields (or someone else) takes over???
