That rumbling of the ground that you felt on Thursday afternoon was Steeler Nation collectively running to Twitter to react to the report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac that Russell Wilson would meet with the organization ahead of the free-agency period. (He did on Friday.)

Many fans were happy–including my brother who called me because he had nothing better to do on a Thursday at 1 p.m. Many others had the meh or hard pass reaction.

Some fans who were happy about the Wilson to the Steelers rumors felt that the veteran quarterback would instantly make Pittsburgh a contender in 2024. Other happy campers actually said out loud that Wilson would be great competition for Kenny Pickett next year.

Great competition for Kenny Pickett? LMAO!

Sorry, but let’s be real. Wilson ain’t signing with the Steelers unless he is guaranteed to be the starting quarterback next year. I don’t care what his current contract status is–the Broncos, who are set to officially release Wilson at the start of the new league year, are on the hook for $39 million in 2024. I don’t care that Pittsburgh would only have to pay Wilson approximately $1 million in 2024 (in theory, but we know how these quarterbacks are). Wilson could sign with any number of teams next year; why would he come to Pittsburgh and agree to compete for a starting job with a third-year quarterback who has thrown for half as many touchdowns in two seasons (13) as he threw last year in Denver (26)?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Wilson SHOULD be the Steelers starting quarterback next year. I’m not saying that it’s a horrible idea to bring in a veteran quarterback to compete with Pickett for the starting job.

But I am saying that Wilson just isn’t that guy. In his mind, he’s still Russell Wilson, the franchise quarterback who the Broncos traded a king’s ransom to the Seahawks to acquire in 2022 before paying him another king’s ransom in the form of a contract extension.

You can say Wilson is washed up all you want (or washed, like the cool kids do), but even if he is, he’s not ready to admit it. You know who Aaron Rodgers is, right? You remember Ben Roethlisberger, no? Can you picture either of those guys backing up a younger quarterback or mentoring him?

No, because that’s never going to happen with the former and never, ever happened with the latter.

It’s not going to happen with Wilson, either.

Rodgers and Roethlisberger are notorious divas. Wilson is also notorious for his diva-like behavior. Most franchise quarterbacks are still divas even after their talents dictate that they shouldn’t be. But unlike washed up diva receivers, QBs still get to make lots of money and call their own shots until the bitter end.

There are plenty of quarterback-starved teams who will gladly roll out the red carpet for Wilson and make the kinds of promises and guarantees that would satisfy his sizable ego and prompt him to sign with them.

The Steelers don’t have to be one of those teams. The Steelers have every right to give Pickett one more year to develop into a bona fide starting NFL quarterback.

But if they include that plan in their pitch to land Russell Wilson, they ain’t gonna land Russell Wilson.

The end.