Russell Wilson is bound to become a free agent. However, he doesn't want that to be the case for all that long. He's made it clear that he wants to stay in Pittsburgh.
"That's the plan," Wilson said Monday during the final locker room session of the season. "Obviously, I love it here and everything else. I think we have a great football team. Obviously, it didn't end the way we wanted it to. I think there's a lot more to do. ... They've known that I've always wanted to be here and play here. But, it's also a process. We haven't had those meetings yet. We'll have those, then we'll go from there."
Wilson missed six games to start the season, all while the Steelers went 4-2 with Justin Fields at quarterback. In the 11 regular season games Wilson played, he completed 63.7% of his passes for 2,482 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions, good enough for a 95.6 passer rating.
However, along with the team's play, Wilson's play deteriorated down the stretch in December and January. Over the final four regular season games, Wilson's passer rating was just 81.3 while the offense grew stagnant and the team ended the season with a four-game losing streak. In the playoff loss in Baltimore, Wilson posted good numbers, but the majority of those stats were driven by deep ball completions after the Steelers had already fallen behind at halftime, 21-0.
Wilson was given an opportunity to dissect why the offense struggled, and he gave an astute answer.
"At the end of the day, it's how do we execute early? I think we went 17 or 18 games without doing that," Wilson said. "I think that's something, moving forward, that you always want to be able to do. That doesn't define the game. It doesn't, but it definitely helps the game."
Wilson's right. The Steelers went all season without scoring a touchdown on the opening drive of the game. Slow starts were a common theme, and that translated to the playoffs when the team had 59 total yards at halftime.
Wilson wants to stay in Pittsburgh, but two questions remain: Why does he want to stay in Pittsburgh, and do the Steelers also want to bring him back? As I've been reporting, the team has been considering Wilson for a multi-year contract since August. The four-game losing streak wasn't enough to completely change their minds on that, but we'll have to wait and see what Mike Tomlin and Art Rooney II have to say later this month about their quarterback situation.
As for why Wilson wants to stay in Pittsburgh, he was one of several Steelers to voice support for Tomlin and believes they can be a better football team than they were in 2024.
"I just love the guys. I love the locker room. I love Coach Tomlin. I love who he is," Wilson said. "Obviously, I think this is a place that can win and win a lot. I think we have a championship-caliber football team. It didn't go the way we wanted it to this year. But I love playing football. I love playing the game. If it works out that way, I'll be excited to do that and put the black and gold on again."
THE ASYLUM
Wilson plans to stay in Pittsburgh
Russell Wilson is bound to become a free agent. However, he doesn't want that to be the case for all that long. He's made it clear that he wants to stay in Pittsburgh.
"That's the plan," Wilson said Monday during the final locker room session of the season. "Obviously, I love it here and everything else. I think we have a great football team. Obviously, it didn't end the way we wanted it to. I think there's a lot more to do. ... They've known that I've always wanted to be here and play here. But, it's also a process. We haven't had those meetings yet. We'll have those, then we'll go from there."
Wilson missed six games to start the season, all while the Steelers went 4-2 with Justin Fields at quarterback. In the 11 regular season games Wilson played, he completed 63.7% of his passes for 2,482 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions, good enough for a 95.6 passer rating.
However, along with the team's play, Wilson's play deteriorated down the stretch in December and January. Over the final four regular season games, Wilson's passer rating was just 81.3 while the offense grew stagnant and the team ended the season with a four-game losing streak. In the playoff loss in Baltimore, Wilson posted good numbers, but the majority of those stats were driven by deep ball completions after the Steelers had already fallen behind at halftime, 21-0.
Wilson was given an opportunity to dissect why the offense struggled, and he gave an astute answer.
"At the end of the day, it's how do we execute early? I think we went 17 or 18 games without doing that," Wilson said. "I think that's something, moving forward, that you always want to be able to do. That doesn't define the game. It doesn't, but it definitely helps the game."
Wilson's right. The Steelers went all season without scoring a touchdown on the opening drive of the game. Slow starts were a common theme, and that translated to the playoffs when the team had 59 total yards at halftime.
Wilson wants to stay in Pittsburgh, but two questions remain: Why does he want to stay in Pittsburgh, and do the Steelers also want to bring him back? As I've been reporting, the team has been considering Wilson for a multi-year contract since August. The four-game losing streak wasn't enough to completely change their minds on that, but we'll have to wait and see what Mike Tomlin and Art Rooney II have to say later this month about their quarterback situation.
As for why Wilson wants to stay in Pittsburgh, he was one of several Steelers to voice support for Tomlin and believes they can be a better football team than they were in 2024.
"I just love the guys. I love the locker room. I love Coach Tomlin. I love who he is," Wilson said. "Obviously, I think this is a place that can win and win a lot. I think we have a championship-caliber football team. It didn't go the way we wanted it to this year. But I love playing football. I love playing the game. If it works out that way, I'll be excited to do that and put the black and gold on again."
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