New Steelers QB Russell Wilson Believes He Will Be The Starter In Pittsburgh: "He's Ultra Confident In His Abilities"

After weeks of speculation, the Pittsburgh Steelers have made a move at the quarterback position. They are signing nine-time Pro Bowler Russell Wilson to a one-year contract to come into town to battle former first round pick, Kenny Pickett. The team hasn't officially announced the signing yet, and they won't be able to do so until the new league year officially starts on March 13, but Wilson himself posted the news on his social media. 

Ever since the news broke late last week that Wilson was on his way to Pittsburgh to meet with the Steelers, the main question that keeps surfacing is whether or not Wilson is being signed to be the guy, or to have an honest competition with Pickett. We've heard different opinions from several outlets, but it does seem like there will be a competition for the starting job. But according to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, it's a competition that Wilson believes he can easily handle. 

"I think Pittsburgh made it clear that it was bringing in competition for Kenny Pickett," Schefter told Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter. "And I think Russell Wilson doesn't go anywhere that he doesn't think that he isn't going to be the starter. He's going to have to go and earn it, and he's going to have to play well. But Russell Wilson is ultra confident in his abilities, and what he will bring to that franchise. We're talking about a guy that has been to nine Pro Bowls, whose won a Super Bowl. I don't think he thinks that he's going to Pittsburgh to back-up Kenny Pickett. But certainly, Kenny Pickett will have the opportunity to play well this summer and see how that goes." 

Wilson is on the back-nine of his career, and there's zero chance he would agree to sign anywhere without getting the sense that he is going to be the starter. There were a lot of issues in Denver, but Wilson's play wasn't why he was eventually benched. The fear of him getting injured and the team not being able to release him was the ultimate cause of why he was held out of the final two games of the season. Denver lost to New England the previous week, but Wilson threw for two touchdowns and finished the game with a 103.2 passer rating. Pickett had six games last year where his passer rating was under 76. 

The bottom line is it's going to be hard for Pickett to beat out a healthy Wilson. You don't have to look far when you look at the body of work Pickett has produced the past two seasons. It's been a lot of fourth quarter comebacks, and very little scoring. Of course, a lot of blame for that should and does fall on former offensive coordinator, Matt Canada, but Canada also wasn't on the field missing wide-open receivers. Wilson threw for 26 touchdowns last year. The Steelers haven't thrown that many touchdown passes in the past two seasons combined. 

Some look at Wilson's age and believe that he's nearing the end of his career. But Wilson doesn't have the same sentiments. On the I Am Athlete podcast recently, Wilson declared that he wanted to win two more Super Bowls, and play for at least five more seasons. 

Five more seasons would take Wilson past his 40th birthday, and outside of Tom Brady, we haven't seen too many players be able to avoid Father Time. So that might not be a realistic goal for Wilson, especially after he took 100 sacks over the past two seasons. But if he's able to help the Steelers make a deep playoff run, it's fathomable to believe that they'd be willing to give him a sizeable contract to finish out his career in Pittsburgh. 

Steelers’ Quarterback Future Remains Unstable

Signing Wilson still comes with a lot of risk for the Steelers, despite the very minimal salary for Wilson. The team will still look to add a third quarterback to the mix, but that player likely isn't going to be the same caliber player that Mason Rudolph was coming in from the third spot on the depth chart. They could be back in this same position next year if Wilson doesn't work out and they don't have any interest in bringing him back for a second season. It's unlikely that Pickett is going to suddenly gain the trust back of the coaching staff and front office if he's holding a clip board all season. 

And let's not forget, next offseason, the Steelers will be strapped with the decision to either pick up Pickett's fifth-year option, or don't. At the moment, it's a pretty clear no, but who knows what the next 12 months will bring. 

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