Sources: Wilson to sign 1-year deal with Steelers

Adam Schefter, ESPN Senior WriterMar 10, 2024, 11:39 PM ET
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Nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback and one-time Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson plans to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers, league sources told ESPN.

Wilson will sign a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum, which is $1.2 million. The Denver Broncos, who told him last week he would be released, will pay the rest of Wilson’s $37.8 million salary while he wears the black and yellow.

In a social media post Sunday night, Wilson wrote: “Year 13. Grateful.” With it was an accompanying video of the Steelers and their fans.

Year 13. Grateful. @Steelers pic.twitter.com/0U4Q2sRtXs

— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) March 11, 2024

With permission from the Broncos because he is still under contract until the start of the new league year on Wednesday, Wilson visited with Steelers officials in Pittsburgh for over six hours on Friday. He met with, among others, coach Mike Tomlin and new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. The two sides had a mutual interest that led to the deal.

Wilson now heads to Pittsburgh with Kenny Pickett, the Steelers’ 2022 first-round pick, being the only quarterback currently under contract to the team. Mason Rudolph is entering free agency after starting three games for Pittsburgh last season.

Wilson, 35, was told last week he would be released Wednesday, ending a tumultuous two-season run in which Denver went 11-19 in his starts and failed to make the playoffs. He was benched with two games remaining in the 2023 season, ending the campaign with 3,070 passing yards to go with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

The Broncos signed Wilson to a five-year, $242.6 million deal after his arrival in a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Seahawks in 2022. Denver will take on an $85 million hit in dead money on its salary cap over the next two seasons because of the release.

Wilson spent 10 seasons in Seattle, making nine Pro Bowls and winning a Super Bowl in 2014. A third-round pick of the Seahawks in 2012, he has thrown for 43,653 yards and 334 touchdowns with 106 interceptions.

Wilson was asked about his future during an appearance on the “I Am Athlete” podcast with former Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall last month and said winning is his highest priority.

“Over the next two years, I want to win two [Super Bowls], I want to feel the chill of that trophy again,” he told Marshall. “I love the city [of Denver] and everything else, but you also want to be [in] a place that wants you too. The thing I want to do is to win; that’s all I care about.”

Wilson has won against the Steelers during his career. In two starts against Tomlin and Pittsburgh, Wilson is 2-0 with eight touchdown passes, no interceptions and a 147.1 passer rating.

The Steelers’ 2024 schedule includes a game in Denver against the Broncos that now could feature Wilson’s return.