As the cliché goes, age is just a number. That’s the narrative new Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson is spreading at the team’s minicamp.
Wilson will turn 36 during the 2024 regular season. But he argued on June 11 that joining his third NFL team this offseason has him rejuvenated.
“I feel the fountain of youth,” Wilson told reporters. “I feel revived in every way. Mentally, emotionally, spiritually. I feel confident.”
That gels with what the feelings Wilson conveyed very early in his tenure with the Steelers.
“This past year I felt like myself again,” Wilson said in March, via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “And so I can’t wait to just put on the cleats and go after it.”
Compared to 2022, Wilson had a much better statistical season during his second year with Denver Broncos last fall. He threw for 26 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions with a 66.4% completion percentage in 2023.
But the Steelers are hoping Wilson can also recapture the efficiency he had during his prime with the Seattle Seahawks. In 10 years with the Seahawks, he averaged 7.8 yards per pass. The past two seasons in Denver, Wilson recorded 7.1 yards per attempt.
Steelers Expectations for QB Russell Wilson
Wilson hasn’t posted a winning record since 2020, which was the only All-Pro campaign the veteran quarterback has had in his 12-year career. In 2020, Wilson tossed for 4,212 yards with 40 touchdowns.
It’s unrealistic for the Steelers to expect Wilson to return to that kind of production. After all, under new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, Pittsburgh could be a heavy-run team with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren in the backfield.
Running the ball isn’t the new craze in the league. But The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Christopher Carter argued on June 12 that it’s still a recipe of success for a lot of teams.
“The 49ers have hovered right around 500 carried the past few seasons,” Carter wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Eagles ran the ball 544 times when they were in the SB.
“If the Steelers were to have the run game working like those teams, would be interesting.”
The last time the Steelers had more than 500 rushing attempts in a season was Mike Tomlin’s first year as head coach in 2007. The Steelers had 549 carries in 2005 when they won the Super Bowl under previous head coach Bill Cowher.
Pittsburgh’s offense could look similar this fall. But even if that’s the Steelers new formula, Wilson will need to be a big part of the team’s success.
A ground game only wins with an efficient quarterback (and an elite defense).
Chris Simms Ranks Wilson at No. 21 on QB Rankings List
The Steelers identified Wilson as the quarterback they wanted to compete for their starting job very early this offseason. They signed him before NFL free agency technically even began.
But NFL analysts don’t 100% share the Pittsburgh organization’s confidence in the veteran signal caller. At least NBC Sports’ Chris Simms doesn’t.
Simms ranked Wilson outside his top 20 quarterbacks on his annual QB list.
The good news, though, if there is with that ranking any for the Steelers, is the team has clearly upgraded in Simms’ mind. Simms ranked former Pittsburgh first-round pick Kenny Pickett at No. 38 on his quarterback list.
Justin Fields was also higher than Pickett. In fact, Fields wasn’t far behind Wilson at No. 25.
If there’s any other positive Steelers fans can take away from the list, it’s San Francisco 49ers signal caller Brock Purdy came in at No. 17 on the Simms’ rankings.
The biggest criticism for Purdy is he’s a game manager and not a difference maker for San Francisco. But if the Steelers have an elite running game and defense in 2024, they’ll take an efficient game manager behind center.
That could be the secret to ending the franchise’s seven-year postseason win drought.
