Russell Wilson plans to sign with Pittsburgh Steelers

Russell Wilson’s next chapter in his tumultuous NFL career will be written with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Russell Wilson, the nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback who was recently released by the Denver Broncos, will sign a team-friendly deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers when the new league year begins on Wednesday, per multiple reports.

The news seemed to be confirmed by Wilson himself.

Wilson had been traded to the Broncos by the Seattle Seahawks in 2022, and it was a deal that did not work out for Denver. In two seasons with the Broncos, he completed 63.3% of his passes with 42 touchdowns and 19 interceptions, but he clashed with head coach Sean Payton last season, and was ultimately benched to end the season.

For the Steelers, it’s a move that can only be good. As Wilson will be paid $38 million of his salary by the Broncos in 2024, Wilson can sign for peanuts. And given the Steelers’ quarterback situation over the last few years, Wilson could be an immediate net positive, though he’s been an inconsistent player of late. The end of Ben Roethlisberger’s career made way for 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett, who hasn’t really distinguished himself.

Last season, the 10-7 Steelers finished 28th in points scored, and sixth in points allowed. They have a dynamic defense, an above-average run game, and an offensive line and receiver corps with potential. They also have a head coach in Mike Tomlin who can get along with just about anybody, and a new offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith, whose play-action/explosive play preferences would seem to fit with Wilson’s attributes.

Perhaps this is what Wilson needs to resuscitate his career, and what the Steelers need to put themselves back over the top.

Broncos inform quarterback Russell Wilson he will be released

Russell Wilson’s time with the Broncos is coming to an end

Russell Wilson’s time with the Denver Broncos is concluding.

The quarterback was told by the AFC West team he would be released when the league year starts on March 13.

Wilson took the high road and posted a nice note to the fans of the team.

Wilson was 11-19 in two years with the Broncos as their starting QB. He threw for 6,594 yards with 42 TD passes and 19 interceptions.

Overall, it was a bad time for Denver and Wilson with the Broncos.

2024 NFL Mock Draft: End-of-season quarterback decisions lead to surprising picks

How many NFL teams will stick with their current quarterbacks? A high number could make for an interesting first round of the 2024 draft.

Now that the 2023 NFL regular season is over, every team turns its attention to the draft — even those teams that are part of the postseason. Area scouts will start to move to the home facility to interact with scouting directors and general managers, and with the scouting combine less than two months away, it’s time to start putting your big boards together.

This applies especially to those teams with crucial quarterback decisions to make. For the purposes of this mock draft, we’ll assume that the Chicago Bears are sticking with Justin Fields, the Arizona Cardinals are committed to Kyler Murray, the Tennessee Titans think they have a future franchise quarterback in Will Levis, and the New York Jets think that eventually, Aaron Rodgers will stop shooting his mouth off long enough to play quarterback in 2024.

Conversely, the Washington Commanders, New England Patriots, New York Giants, and Atlanta Falcons will avail themselves of the best draftable quarterbacks possible in the interest of turning things around.

So, four quarterbacks go in the first round here, with more teams looking to build around the guys they’ve already got. That makes for one notable omission (Oregon’s Bo Nix), and a whole bunch of talented prospects at other positions pushing themselves up the boards.

Jarrett Stidham, Lil’ Jordan Humphrey combine for 54-yard Broncos TD

The Broncos get a TD pass from Jarrett Stidham and the lead over the Chargers

Russell who?

That’s not fair or right after this week. However, the Denver Broncos are ahead of the Los Angeles Chargers in the second quarter thanks to a TD pass from Jarrett Stidham to Lil’Jordan Humphrey.

The play covered 54 yards and has the the Broncos still thinking postseason possibilities after a chaotic week.

Awful decisions have brought the Broncos to the brink of franchise purgatory

The Denver Broncos have made a series of bad decisions over the last few years, with the Russell Wilson fiasco as the head of the snake.

It wasn’t so long ago that Peyton Manning was guiding the Denver Broncos and their elite defense to multiple Super Bowls and they were consistently one of the most dominant teams in the league year after year. However, since Manning’s departure seemingly nothing has gone right for the Broncos as they have landed on a string of six about to be seven straight losing seasons.

What has gone wrong? How has this happened? There is virtually no way you can correctly point a finger at a single person in this seven year string of events. One consistent theme through all of these seasons has been the quarterback, a position in which the Denver Broncos has never hit on in the draft in their franchise history outside of the likes of Jay Cutler. Obviously that trend isn’t the sole responsibility of anyone involved, but perhaps a history lesson that is forcing the Broncos to look back at themselves and see where they’ve missed out.

The list of failed Denver Broncos quarterbacks since Peyton Manning departed is quite long, and Russell Wilson is the most expensive consequence of all of them that has now threatened to bury the franchise into a purgatory of mediocrity for some time. Fans can hardly blame the franchise for taking the dive on Wilson once he became available, but there were certainly mistakes made along the way. It was clear and obvious to everyone that Denver was aiming for Aaron Rodgers during the same offseason they acquired Wilson, as shown by their head coach choice of Nathaniel Hackett, and numerous reports that pointed in that direction. Hitting the panic button and sinking your future into a quarterback that a different franchise was eager to move on from, in retrospect may have been a death sentence.

Since acquiring Wilson the Broncos have looked like one of the worst teams in the league, and while new head coach Sean Payton (who they also gave away a first round pick for) has certainly made the team look functional it’s clear he could not save this roster or this quarterback from the inevitable. With Wilson being benched this week and in all likelihood being cut in the offseason, what do the Denver Broncos have to lean on but their head coach? How long will that realistically last given the roster Payton has to deal with.

It is going to be imperative that Denver does not panic and that they add depth to a roster that is seriously lacking. You almost have to hit a reset button and declare everyone is for sale to try and salvage a competitive future in the next five years. There are not a ton of stars on this team, and the ones that they do have in the likes of Patrick Surtain, should seriously be considered to be swapped for draft capital.

This is going to be a very painful lesson for a historically successful franchise. This new ownership needs to find out of they have the right coach before the hit the panic button on their next quarterback, and their current coach needs to build this roster from the ground up once again lest the team be stricken with another half decade of mediocrity.

Russell Wilson responds to benching with tweet

Russell Wilson responded to the news of the day with a tweet

Russell Wilson went from starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos on Wednesday to a circus atmosphere about what his future was — more precisely, wasn’t — with the AFC West team.

Hours after the news broke, the quarterback posted a message on Twitter about how he was in good hands and wasn’t fretting about the future.

Russell Wilson, Broncos heading toward nasty divorce

Russell Wilson is not in the future plans of the Broncos

The news came early Wednesday that the Denver Broncos were going to start Jarrett Stidham against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 17, with Russell Wilson being benched.

From there, there was a water spout of information that made it clear the AFC West team does not have plans for Wilson with the franchise.

The next step appears to be Wilson being cut by the Broncos in March.

Per ESPN.com:

Wilson is guaranteed $39 million in 2024 whether he is with the team or not, but he also has an additional $37 million that would become guaranteed if he cannot pass a physical in early March.

… The Broncos could designate Wilson as a post-June 1 release after the season and owe $85 million in dead money, spread over two seasons. … Trading Wilson before June 1 would leave the Broncos with a staggering $68 million in dead money next year, unless Denver could convince the acquiring team to pay his $22 million option bonus.

Wideout Jerry Jeudy was caught by surprise.

Wilson and the Broncos are 7-8 after 15 games. He has completed 66.4% of his passes for 26 touchdowns against 8 interceptions.

Broncos sit Russell Wilson among trio of starting QB changes

The Broncos will go with Jarrett Stidham at QB against the LA Chargers

There was a time when Jarrett Stidham was considered an heir apparent to Tom Brady. Now, the Denver Broncos will turn to Stidham as their starter for the final two games of the regular season.

Yes, Stidham is replacing Russell Wilson against the LA Chargers in Week 17.

Reports indicate the Broncos, who still have a mathematical chance for a wild card spot if they win out are either trying to spark the offense or avoid Wilson suffering a serious injury.

Other QB news saw the New York Giants return to Tyrod Taylor for their game against the LA Rams as Tyrod Taylor takes a seat.

And, the Washington Commanders sit Sam Howell while Jacoby Brissett gets the start against the San Francisco 49ers.

Worst of the Week for Week 15: Pickens and Toney, Sean Payton’s meltdown, Ron Rivera’s folly

MIke Tomlin, Sean Payton, Kadarius Toney, George Pickens, invisible Panthers fans, and the Jets. It’s time for the NFL’s Worst of the Week!

Football is a wonderful, thrilling, inspiring game that can lift us to new heights in our lives.

But football is also a weird, inexplicable, at times downright stupid game that may force you to perform Keith Moon-level furniture destruction in your own living room.

So, as much as we at Touchdown Wire endeavor to write about what makes the game great, there are also times when it’s important to point out the dumb plays, boneheaded decisions, and officiating errors that make football all too human.

Folks, it’s time for the Worst of the Week for Week 15 of the 2023 NFL season.

Twitter reacts to the Lions’ 42-17 wrecking of the Broncos

Here are some of the best tweets to emerge from the Detroit Lions’ 42-17 thrashing of the Denver Broncos on Saturday night.

Part of the advancement of the NFL schedule is the conclusion of the 17-game slate, and the league will find unique means to make it so.

Three games on the same day of the week — the first day of bowl season no less? Absolutely. Why not? And may all three games have playoff implications to boot so as to make things dramatic, too.

 

Here are some of the best tweets to emerge from the Detroit Lions’ 42-17 thrashing of the Denver Broncos on Saturday night.