Soon after the Denver Broncos announced their intentions to release Russell Wilson, they permitted Wilson to start speaking and meeting with other teams in their home cities right away, before the official free agency period begins.
After Denver did so, it didn't take Wilson long to find a potential suitor that he also has an interest in.
According to an X post from Pittsburgh Gazette insider Gerry Dulac, the Pittsburgh Steelers have emerged as a potential destination for the nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback.
Steelers are interested in signing Russell Wilson and are tentatively planning to meet with the former Broncos QB before start of free agency, per sources. Wilson has interest in joining Steelers. Story in PG forthcoming.
— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) March 7, 2024
"Steelers are interested in signing Russell Wilson and are tentatively planning to meet with the former Broncos QB before start of free agency, per sources. Wilson has interest in joining Steelers. Story in PG forthcoming," Dulac wrote.
In the aforementioned story, Dulac noted that, while there's surely mutual interest between Wilson and the Steelers brass, that doesn't mean that a deal is imminent.
Dulac also said that Wilson hasn't met with the Steelers yet — although both sides have tentatively agreed on doing so next week, prior to the NFL's free agency period beginning — and that Wilson is already speaking with at least one unknown other team at the moment.
Still, the fact that there's mutual interest between Wilson and the Steelers provides a lot for us to unpack.
Pittsburgh having an interest in Wilson would make it appear that the Steelers aren't certain Kenny Pickett is their franchise quarterback.
Pickett was just okay last season, and didn't show the progression that most Steelers fans had hoped as he entered his second year in the league.
While Pittsburgh might think that signing Wilson will create a healthy competition for the starting job between him and Pickett — or perhaps they're hoping Wilson can mentor Pickett for the future, á la Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love — the Steelers surely want to win right now.
Clearly they aren't convinced that Pickett is the guy to help them do so.
Of course, we expect multiple other teams to show interest in Wilson in the coming days and weeks, and mutual interest doesn't mean that Wilson is guaranteed to be wearing black and yellow next season.
That being said, the Steelers nation should keep a close eye on this story as it continues to unfold.
