Russell Wilson Says He's Had Initial Contract Talks with Steelers Before Free Agency

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson, a pending free agent, indicated that he and the organization have had preliminary conversations about him potentially returning next season.

"I think first of all, yes, we have been starting to talk a little bit, obviously, and we've had our meetings and everything else, and kind of just getting into it," he said Tuesday during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.

"Hopefully I get to play there a lot longer," Wilson added. "It's a special place because of the guys in the locker room, the traditions and the people and the winning. All of that, plus you've got Mike Tomlin who is arguably the best coach of all time, one of the top ones just because of who he is and how he motivates us. Even through the storm I think that we battled, and a lot of that was because of Coach Tomlin."

While Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Don Shula, Vince Lombardi and others might like a word about that "best coach of all time" remark, there's no doubt that Tomlin remains one of the consistently excellent coaches in the sport. In 18 years leading the Steelers he's never had a losing season, leading Pittsburgh to one Super Bowl title and 12 playoff appearances.

One issue keeping the Steelers from getting over the hump since Ben Roethlisberger's retirement after the 2021 season, however, is the lack of an elite quarterback.

Wilson, 36, was steady for the team in 2024, throwing for 2,482 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions in 11 games while completing 63.7 percent of his passes and taking 33 sacks. The Steelers were just 6-5 in his starts, and lost their lone playoff game, finishing the season with five straight losses.

Granted, those losses came against the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens (twice), Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals, all difficult opponents. Of that group, only Cincy missed the postseason, and just barely. It will be a concern, however, that Wilson went just 2-4 against playoff teams this season, while Justin Fields registered a 2-0 mark in such games.

Granted, Wilson was an upgrade in the passing game for the Steelers (Fields threw for five touchdowns and one interception in six starts, averaging just 184.3 passing yards per game). And Pittsburgh isn't going to be in a position to draft one of the top available options, though the team does have $43.4 million in cap space, meaning they could potentially enter the Sam Darnold sweepstakes if they so desired.

Retaining both Wilson and Fields would probably be the cheaper option, however, and allow them to retain some of their own free agents. Whether either player is capable of turning the Steelers from a playoff team to a true contender is the bigger question.