The move has been made, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have Russell Wilson on their roster for the 2024 season. “Mr. Unliiiiimited” in the Black & Gold is something I never imagined seeing until a few weeks ago. I do think this is the right move for the Steelers in addressing their quarterback situation. With Arthur Smith as the offensive coordinator for the 2024 season, this Steelers offense should look much different than the previous few seasons.

While the Steelers have had success running the ball in the latter portions of the past 2 seasons, it has not come easy. With Matt Canada’s predictable play calling and the inability of Kenny Picket to threaten defenses consistently with his arm, teams were able to stack the box and commit to stopping the run. The tail end of Big Ben’s career saw the same issue of running into loaded boxes. Even with the defenses seemingly being a step ahead, Najee has been very successful running the ball and through his first 3 seasons he has accumulated over 1,000 rushing yards each season. Along side of Harris, Jaylen Warren has emerged as the perfect compliment gaining 784 yards on the ground in 2023. Bringing in Russell Wilson, combined with Arthur Smith, I anticipate the Steelers to have more breathing room in the running game. Too many times we have seen Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren were running into 8+ man boxes due to the fact that teams did not fear the Steelers throwing the football. Along with Russ allowing the offense to face fewer stacked boxes because of his threat of throwing the ball, he is also a treat to run himself.

Now Wilson is by no means the athlete that he used to be but he is still danger-Russ running the football. He still has that backyard ball in him where he is able to run around to create plays and pick up first downs with his legs. When a defense faces a quarterback that is a threat to pick up first downs with their legs, it adds another element to prepare for. When Russ scrambles, even though he is able to pick up first downs with his legs, that is not his first priority. Russell Wilson loves to throw the ball deep down the field and he is very capable of doing so while on the run. George Pickens might be the happiest player on the Steelers when the news about Russell Wilson broke. Pickens is a deep threat wide receiver that makes contested catches down the field and that just may be the best part of Wilson’s game. Wilson will not hesitate to throw it up and give Pickens chances to make plays down the field, which is something we all have been asking for.

Another part of Wilson’s game that can pay HUGE dividends for the Steelers is his play in the red-zone. In 2023 Russell Wilson threw 20 Touchdowns and 1 interception in the red-zone, compared to 5 touchdowns from all 3 of the Steelers quarterbacks combined. With the weapons of George Pickens, Pat Freiermuth, Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren and others, Wilson has plenty of talent to work with. Russell Wilson may not be the same player he once was, but he is better than what we’ve had. Russell Wilson still has to beat out Kenny Pickett for the spot of QB1, but I anticipate him to do so. The first big move of 2024 has been made and with that I say… Steelers Nation, Lets Ride!

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