The Pittsburgh Steelers signed veteran quarterback Russell Wilson this offseason in hopes of him rekindling his career and help getting the Steelers over the hump and back on the winning ways in the playoffs.
But what version of Wilson do the Steelers need and which one will they get?
Wilson made the Pro Bowl in nine of his first 10 seasons. The one season is didn’t, he threw for 4,219 yards and 21 passing touchdowns. It was one of four seasons where Wilson topped 4,000 passing yards.
The Steelers quarterbacks threw for 3,163 yards as a group last season. Wilson has had three seasons during his 12 years where he did not top that number.
If the Steelers want to win their first playoff game since 2016, the Wilson the Steelers need has to be pre-Denver Broncos. And pre his final season with the Seattle Seahawks. Much of what happened with Denver could be attributed to the scheme but at 35 years old, some drop off was expected.
We have seen quarterbacks get a spike in their production in the right scheme even late in their career but it isn’t like Wilson was ever a huge stats quarterback.
So what should the Steelers expect and what should they hope for? After looking back at Wilson’s career, the most realistic projection is something between his 2020 season when he threw for 4,265 yards and had a 105.1 rating and last season when he only threw for 3,070 yards but still took care of the football with a 98.0 rating and only threw eight interceptions.
