The Pittsburgh Steelers have been putting a Band-Aid on the quarterback position for years now, and the QB room has been completely turned over two years in a row. Aaron Rodgers is currently the starter, but Russell Wilson held that role during the 2024 season. He played pretty well for the Steelers at the start, but things began to crumble towards the end of the year and it became clear that his time in Pittsburgh was coming to an end. The Steelers showed no signs of wanting to bring him back during the 2025 offseason, and he wound up signing with the New York Giants.
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Former Steelers quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields warming up before a game in 2024.
Wilson was a polarizing addition for the Steelers, but his price point was too good to pass up as the Denver Broncos owed him a ton of guaranteed money. Pittsburgh signed him for cheap, and he immediately tried to bring some former teammates with him. The quarterback played with Josh Gordon during his time with the Seattle Seahawks, and Gordon recently told a story on the Glory Daze podcast about how Wilson called him after signing with the Steelers to try and recruit him to Pittsburgh.
"I ended up staying in Seattle for two years and getting to meet Russell and Russell, he even called me, he's like, 'Hey man, let me see if I can get you in with the Pittsburgh Steelers,'" Gordon said. "This was when I was already done out of Tennessee."
Wilson signed with Pittsburgh right before the start of free agency during the 2024 offseason, and Gordon had not played in the NFL since the 2022 season when he suited up for the Tennessee Titans. 2023 was the last year he played football when he played in the then-XFL, and he played pretty well. He wound up officially announcing his retirement from football near the start of the 2024 season.
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Josh Gordon during a road game with the Seattle Seahawks as he prepared to play the Philadelphia Eagles.
Gordon and Wilson were teammates with Seattle during the 2019 and 2020 seasons, and the two grew close, having a great relationship. This is why Wilson was trying to get Gordon to come and play for the Steelers during the 2024 season, before Gordon officially announced his retirement from football.
The former wide receiver was one of the most talented players in the league. He was an absolute athletic freak, but he could not get out of his own way. He received his first suspension for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy at the start of the 2013 season as he was suspended for the first two games. He went to be an All-Pro that year as he caught 87 passes for over 1,600 yards and nine touchdowns. That was just his second season in the league, and he couldn't play the first two games and still put up those numbers.
Gordon wound up being suspended multiple times for the same reasons, and he could not play at all during the 2015 and 2016 seasons. He eventually applied for his reinstatement to the league which is what allowed him to continue his career.
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Josh Gordon during a home game with the Seattle Seahawks in 2019.
Steelers Probably Would Not Have Had Much Use For Josh Gordon In 2024
Gordon was a shell of himself later on in his career, and it is hard to imagine that he would have been much of a difference maker in Pittsburgh. In 2021, while he was with the Kansas City Chiefs, he caught just five passes for 32 yards and a touchdown in 12 games. With Tennessee in 2022, he played in just two games and saw one target. Maybe reuniting with Wilson would have caused some sort of resurgence for Gordon and he could have produced within the Steelers' offense, but it seems like that would have been unlikely.
What do you think about Gordon nearly coming to Pittsburgh for the 2024 season? Let us know in the comments below!
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