Pittsburgh Steelers News & Rumors

Steelers To Sign WR Quez Watkins

March 25th, 2024 at 9:45am CST by Adam La Rose

The Steelers entered the second phase of free agency in need of a wide receiver addition, and the team is now set to make one. Quez Watkins has agreed to a deal with Pittsburgh, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports.

Watkins played out his rookie contract with the Eagles, and his tenure with the team included flashes of potential as a vertical threat. He recorded 43 catches for 647 yards in 2021, but since then his role has diminished. With both A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith in place atop the WR depth chart, it comes as little surprise Philadelphia allowed Watkins to depart in free agency.

The 25-year-old was on the Dolphins’ radar as part of Miami’s efforts to add a No. 3 option in the passing game. Instead of heading to South Beach, Watkins will join a Steelers’ offense which has undergone plenty of changes recently. Diontae Johnson was traded to the Panthers not long after Allen Robinson was released, creating a pair of notable vacancies at the receiver spot in advance of the draft.

Head coach Mike Tomlin said at the annual league meetings (via Mark Kaboly of The Athletic) wide receiver and center were high on the team’s list of remaining priorities. That comment has now been quickly followed up by an agreement with Watkins, who has averaged 12.7 yards per catch in his career but only drew 72 targets across the past two seasons. He will aim to carve out a larger role in Pittsburgh than he had in recent years in Philadelphia.

The former sixth-rounder will join a WR room led by George Pickens and Calvin Austin, both of whom are on their rookie contracts. The former led the league with an average of 18.1 yards per catch last season, one in which he totaled 1,140 yards and five touchdowns. He will aim to duplicate that success in an offense which now features Russell Wilson and Justin Fields at quarterback and which saw the arrival of Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator.

Watkins has 25 starts to his name, 12 of which came in his career-best 2021 season. He could hold down first-team duties with the Steelers in 2024, although the draft will provide Pittsburgh (a team with a well-earned reputation for developing talent at the position) with plenty of opportunities to add a rookie receiver. Even if the team is active on that front next month, Watkins will be able to provide experienced depth on his new Pennsylvania-based team.

Coaching Updates: Cowboys, Bears, Vikings, Steelers, Browns

March 23rd, 2024 at 3:22pm CST by Ely Allen

The Cowboys announced a number of staff updates recently. We’ve tracked many of the initial changes to occur with the departure of Dan Quinn and a few assistants across the division to Washington, but with the staff filled out, head coach Mike McCarthy opted to hand out of few promotions.

Firstly, Al Harris, who serves as the team’s defensive backs coach has had the title of assistant head coach added to his title, per Josina Anderson of CBS Sports. Dallas had blocked Harris from interviewing for a lateral move to follow Quinn and opted to sweeten the deal after keeping him from another opportunity. ESPN’s Todd Archer tells us that, also on defense, assistant defensive backs coach Cannon Matthews has been granted the title of safeties coach for 2024, making him a full position coach.

On offense, wide receivers coach Robert Prince has added the role of pass game coordinator to his position. Likewise, Chase Haslett, previously the assistant tight ends coach, will serve as the pass game specialist next season. Lastly, game management and offensive assistant Ryan Feder has replaced “offensive assistant” in his job title with “assistant quarterbacks coach” for the 2024 season.

Here are a few other staff updates from around the NFL:

The Bears made a couple of adjustments to their front office recently. Vice president Corey Ruff was promoted by the organization to senior vice president of strategy and analytics and chief of staff. Chicago also hired Tanya Dreesen as the team’s senior vice president of strategy and global affairs and chief of staff, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2.
We’ve tracked a number of Vikings staff changes throughout the offseason, but we have a new promotion and an update to an earlier report. First, 2023’s assistant quarterbacks coach and chief of special projects Grant Udinski earned a promotion, replacing “chief of special projects” in his job title with “assistant offensive coordinator,” according to Kevin Seifer of ESPN. Udinksi will assist new quarterbacks coach Josh McCown. We had originally reported that former quarterbacks coach Chris O’Hara had been moved to pass-game specialist with McCown’s addition, but we now see that Minnesota has him listed as senior offensive assistant.
The Steelers will add veteran defensive assistant Anthony Midget to their 2024 staff, according to Brooke Pryor of ESPN. Midget has experience as the Texans former secondary coach and most recently served as the defensive backs coach in Tennessee. After being fired by the Titans following the 2022 NFL season, Midget sat out in 2023. He rejoins the ranks of NFL coaching as the assistant secondary coach in Pittsburgh.
Finally, the Browns will add an intriguing young name in Nick Charlton, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Charlton made history at Maine, where he became the youngest head coach in Division I history at 31 years old. Following a three-year stint with the Black Bears, Charlton accepted the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coaching job at UConn. He’ll leave the Huskies to serve as the new offensive assistant and run-game specialist in Cleveland.

Steelers Eyeing Post-2024 Future With Justin Fields, Unlikely To Pick Up Fifth-Year Option

March 20th, 2024 at 10:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

Upon trading for Sam Darnold in 2021, the Panthers quickly picked up their soon-to-be starter’s fifth-year option. With the Steelers taking the interesting step of making it clear recent trade acquisition Justin Fields will not have a chance to begin the season as their starter, they are expected to take a different route regarding his fifth-year option.

The team is “highly unlikely” to exercise Fields’ fifth-year option, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac. Seeing as it would cost Pittsburgh $25.7MM fully guaranteed to pick up Fields’ 2025 option, the team’s plan would effectively make doing so a non-starter. Despite a rocky Denver stint, Russell Wilson has already been assured he will be Pittsburgh’s Week 1 starter.

Although the Steelers are not planning to pick up Fields’ option, Dulac adds they are not viewing Fields as a one-and-done player. The organization has moved into uncertain territory at quarterback, having already expressed interest in pushing Wilson’s contract beyond this year. That will make a post-2024 Fields commitment tricky, but Dulac indicates the 2021 Bears first-rounder is being viewed by the Steelers as the potential quarterback of the future.

Since the 2014 offseason brought the first set of fifth-year option decisions, only one team — the Giants — has circled back to re-signing a QB after passing on his fifth-year option. And the Daniel Jones deal has not started well. Fields also would seemingly be interested in seeing what his 2025 market would look like — perhaps after making starts this season, given Wilson’s up-and-down (mostly down) Broncos tenure — before committing to a team that has already indicated he will not compete for the starting job this offseason.

The Bears wanted a Day 2 pick in a Fields swap, per ESPN’s Courtney Cronin and Brooke Pryor, but most of the teams eyeing Fields did so with an eye on making him a backup. This limited Fields’ market. Fits certainly played a role here, with the Ohio State alum certainly being better than a few teams’ starters at present. But a few QB-needy teams are readying to address those issues in the draft. The Broncos would not have seemed a Fields fit, and they will be linked to a draft addition to pair with Jarrett Stidham. Bears GM Ryan Poles reportedly turned down a better offer to send Fields to a more favorable situation in Pittsburgh, Cronin and Pryor add. Fields indeed wanted to be dealt to the Steelers, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Though, it would be shocking if the offer Poles rejected was significantly better than the Steelers’ proposal.

Wilson, 35, carried a slightly better QBR mark than Fields in 2023 — when the then-Broncos QB bounced back, to a degree, under Sean Payton — but the Steelers going from putting Kenny Pickett in a competition for the starting job to handing Wilson the keys without Fields factoring in represents a somewhat surprising development.

Fields, 25, has certainly shown warts as a passer. But Wilson’s shakier status would make this situation differ from when ex-starters Teddy Bridgewater and Jameis Winston trekked elsewhere to reset behind established starters. Drew Brees held a firm grip on the Saints’ job when they signed Bridgewater and then Winston, while it would certainly not surprise to see Wilson benching rumors emerge — now that the Steelers have acquired a starter-caliber backup — this year.

While the Steelers have significant questions at quarterback beyond 2024, their situation is undoubtedly better than it stood exiting the 2023 season. For now, however, they will walk a tightrope with Wilson and Fields both tentatively in their post-2024 plans. After an uneven three years in Chicago, Fields will begin his contract year in a wildly different situation.

Steelers, WR Tyler Boyd Showing Mutual Interest

March 18th, 2024 at 5:00pm CST by Ely Allen

MARCH 18: Providing an update on the situation, Kaboly notes there are some within the Steelers’ organization who are “not 100% on board” with a Boyd agreement. A Pittsburgh agreement could still be in the works, but he adds such a development seems less likely now than it did last week. The Chiefs and Jets could be in on Boyd if he does not join his hometown team.

MARCH 13: The Steelers refuse to shy away from talent in their own division this offseason. A day after signing rival Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen, Pittsburgh is reportedly sharing mutual interest with long-time Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd, per Mark Kaboly of The Athletic.

Boyd hasn’t quite been a priority for Cincinnati as they deal with the potential future extensions of Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase. That tune is sure to change after Higgins requested a trade in response to being franchise-tagged two days ago. Despite falling to third in the pecking order in recent years, Boyd showed that he was more than capable of producing in a WR2 role when Higgins missed five games this season.

Boyd’s best production came at the tail end of his rookie contract, when he caught 166 passes for 2,074 yards and 12 touchdowns over the 2018 and 2019 seasons. That production was enough for the Bengals to sign Boyd to a four-year, $43MM extension, which just expired. While Boyd has failed to reach 1,000 yards receiving or seven touchdowns since, he’s still provided strong contributions despite competing with Chase and Higgins for targets.

Boyd’s 667 receiving yards and two touchdowns in 2023 were his lowest season totals since his sophomore season, when he missed six games. Further muddying a potential continued future in his current home is the Bengals’ notorious avoidance of doling out third contracts to veterans.

Pittsburgh makes sense for Boyd, since he played in Acrisure Stadium (Heinz Field at that time) for all of his college years as a Pitt Panther. A Pittsburgh-area-native out of Clairton HS, signing with the division-rival Steelers would be a homecoming for Boyd. Throw in the recent departure of veteran wideout Diontae Johnson via trade last night, and Boyd fits right in. In Pittsburgh, Boyd would immediately become a starting veteran presence in a receiving corps that currently only boasts George Pickens as an experienced starter.

It’s seems to be a move that makes sense for both parties. Cincinnati may decide that Boyd is worth breaking their precious custom, as they did with Trey Hendrickson last year, in order to keep their receiving trio together. Pittsburgh may opt to go a younger route in free agency or even through the draft. The Steelers do often hit on their draft swings at wide receiver, but Boyd’s experience could be just what Russell Wilson needs in 2024.

Steelers, Russell Wilson Plan To Discuss New Contract After 2024 Season; More On Justin Fields Trade

March 17th, 2024 at 11:18pm CST by Rory Parks

Despite yesterday’s stunning trade that sent Justin Fields from the Bears to the Steelers, the recently-signed Russell Wilson will remain in place as Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, head coach Mike Tomlin reached out to Wilson before the trade was finalized to let the nine-time Pro Bowler know that his job is safe.

And, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Wilson and the Steelers are interested in a multiyear arrangement. While Pittsburgh is paying Wilson the veteran minimum on his one-year deal for 2024 — the Broncos are picking up the rest of Wilson’s $39MM tab — player and team are already planning to explore a “longer deal” at the the end of the season.

It would seem a bit premature to make those types of plans. After all, while Wilson’s second year in Denver was much better than his first, his brief stint with the Broncos was generally a disappointing one. And even if the Steelers do not exercise Fields’ fifth-year option for 2025, it is certainly possible that he impresses enough over the course of the upcoming year to convince Tomlin — long rumored to be a Fields fan — that his newest acquisition is worthy of a new contract and a starting role. Plus, Wilson will be 36 by the end of the 2024 campaign, while Fields just turned 25.

Nonetheless, the fact that these reports are even circulating is evidence of the Steelers’ faith in Wilson. And considering that the club is committing so little salary to him and was able to acquire Fields for a sixth-round draft choice — which will only become a fourth-rounder if Fields plays 51% of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps in 2024 — the Fields trade will have been worth it even if he simply plays out the season as a high-end insurance policy for Wilson and heads elsewhere next year.

It was not too long ago that Dulac and other Steelers beats unequivocally wrote that the team would not pursue an external addition (like Wilson and Fields) who was eyeing a QB1 role. Per Pro Football Talk, those reports were correct when they were published, but the club has dramatically changed how its views the quarterback position over the past month. During that time, Pittsburgh saw Mason Rudolph sign with the Titans in free agency and subsequently traded Kenny Pickett to the Eagles. Whether Rudolph’s departure is what triggered the shift in organizational philosophy — Dulac et al. had suggested that Rudolph and Pickett could compete for the starting quarterback job in 2024 — is unclear, but one way or another, the Steelers have overhauled their QB room in a short amount of time, and for minimal cost.

Meanwhile, Chicago fans have Caleb Williams to look forward to in the near future, but the club is doubtlessly disappointed that it was unable to fetch a larger return for Fields, the No. 11 overall pick of the 2021 draft. We heard just last week that the Bears were not panicking even when the market for Fields did not develop as hoped, and as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk opines, the club should have continued exercising patience. If GM Ryan Poles was willing to accept a 2025 draft choice in exchange for Fields, he might have waited until the 2024 draft was over to see which teams were left without a passer. He might even have kept Fields on the roster, at least as a backup, and waited to collect a compensatory draft pick if and when Fields signed with a different club as a free agent next March.

Perhaps, as Florio suggests, Poles felt that he was doing the right thing for Fields by trading him sooner rather than later. Regardless of his rationale, Poles did confirm in a statement after the trade was announced that he had been exploring a deal for weeks.

The statement, issued by the club’s official X feed, reads, “We have engaged in multiple trade conversations in recent weeks and believe trading Justin at this time to Pittsburgh is what is best for both Justin and the Bears. Today we spoke to Justin to inform him of the trade and the rationale behind it for us as a Club. We want to thank him for his tireless dedication, leadership and all he poured into our franchise and community the last three years and wish him the best towards a long and successful NFL career.”

Per ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, five teams contacted the Bears to dicuss a Fields trade, though all of those clubs viewed Fields as a backup. Poles had hoped that the 2021 trade that sent Sam Darnold from the Jets to the Panthers in exchange for a 2021 sixth-rounder, a 2022 second-rounder, and a 2022 fourth-rounder would provide a framework for a Fields deal, but at the time, Carolina clearly viewed Darnold as a starter. Since rival teams did not feel the same way about Fields, Poles elected to resolve the matter quickly and to start the Williams era with a clean slate.

WR Mike Williams Adds Pittsburgh To Visits

March 17th, 2024 at 9:06pm CST by Ely Allen

The Steelers have made plenty of headlines over the past week, and it doesn’t seem like they intend to stop any time soon. Pittsburgh has completely transformed their quarterbacks room, and now they have set their sights on their wide receiving corps. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, former Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams will visit the Steelers this week.

Now, this doesn’t ensure that Williams will be the latest addition to this new-look Steelers team, necessarily. Williams already has visits in place with the Jets and Panthers, as well. The Jets are set to host the veteran wide receiver on Monday, while the Panthers’ visit will follow the next day. Unless any other suitors come out of the woodwork, it can be assumed that Pittsburgh will follow shortly after Williams is done in Carolina.

In Pittsburgh, Williams would be joining a wide receivers room that has already undergone some serious change. Former Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson will see Williams before Pittsburgh does after getting traded to the Panthers this week in exchange for cornerback Donte Jackson and a late-round pick swap. They replaced him by signing former Rams wide receiver Van Jefferson.

Jefferson showed promise during a sophomore season in Los Angeles in which he caught 50 balls for 802 yards and six touchdowns for the Super Bowl-winning Rams. Since then, an injury limited Jefferson’s 2022 season and a midseason trade to Atlanta handicapped him last year. Jefferson will pair up with third-year receivers George Pickens, who took over the WR1 duties in Pittsburgh last season, and Calvin Austin III atop the depth chart.

Adding Williams would be an extremely complimentary move to the room. It would allow Austin to continue developing without having too much put on his shoulders too soon, and it wouldn’t require too much from Jefferson, either, allowing him to blossom again in a WR3 role. At the same time, Pickens wouldn’t need to fret about losing all of his targets. He can look to Williams’ several years alongside Keenan Allen as proof of what a WR1 can do with Williams across from them.

In reporting the Steelers’ addition to Williams’ list of visits, Schefter also mentioned that, after clearing up some cap space and trading away Allen, the Chargers have expressed interest in bringing Williams back on a new deal. Without Allen and Willams, Justin Herbert‘s targets consist of Josh Palmer, Quentin Johnston, and Derius Davis, as well as new tight ends Will Dissly and Hayden Hurst.

Williams is certainly shopping himself around with three visits scheduled already and more potentially on the horizon if he doesn’t sign a deal. For now, he will peruse the options of catching passes from Bryce Young or Andy Dalton, Aaron Rodgers or Tyrod Taylor, and Russell Wilson or Justin Fields.

Bears Trade QB Justin Fields To Steelers

March 16th, 2024 at 11:12pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Bears were finally able to offload quarterback Justin Fields into the trade market today. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that Chicago is trading Fields to the Steelers, where he could potentially compete with newly signed quarterback Russell Wilson for the starting job.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter provides details, telling us that Pittsburgh is sending the Bears a 2025 sixth-round pick that can conditionally become a fourth-round pick, depending on whether or not Fields plays 51 percent of the team’s offensive snaps in 2024. Both teams have announced the deal.

Pittsburgh’s QB room has changed dramatically in recent days, starting with the team’s Wilson deal becoming official. The former Super Bowl winner’s arrival was followed in very short order by a deal sending Kenny Pickett to the Eagles being worked out. The Steelers’ 2022 first-rounder will head to Philadelphia in a pick-swap arrangement. Fields will occupy the vacancy created by Pickett’s departure.

Of course, this deal has led to immediate questions of how Pittsburgh’s depth chart will look in 2024. Rather than Fields entering his first offseason with the team in an opportunity to take over the No. 1 role, it will be Wilson handling starting duties, as reported by both Rapoport’s colleague Tom Pelissero as well as Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Wilson being handed the reins was a key factor in the Pickett deal coming together as quickly as it did.

Fields will firmly be entrenched in the backup spot, though, considering Mason Rudolph (who finished the 2023 campaign as the starter over Pickett) has signed with the Titans. Quarterback play was seen by many as something which had considerable room for improvement in Pittsburgh’s case compared to the post-Ben Roethlisberger options used to date. General manager Omar Khan has moved quickly in re-shaping the depth chart under center. As ESPN’s Ed Werder notes, this offseason marks the first since 1957 that no Steelers signal-caller who played the previous campaign will return for the following one.

The Bears have had a lingering Fields decision to make for the past two offseasons. General manager Ryan Poles had the opportunity to move on from the 2021 11th overall pick last spring, but the team instead elected to forego drafting a passer at the top of the board. The decision to trade last year’s No. 1 pick to the Panthers has left Chicago in a nearly identical situation in 2024, with Poles facing the task of re-committing to Fields or moving on and drafting a rookie (all-but certainly Caleb Williams) with the top selection this April.

Poles’ move last year paved the way for Fields, 25, to cement his status as the quarterback of the future in Chicago. He saw incremental growth in a number of passing categories in 2023 while remaining a threat with his legs. However, Fields’ performance (and that of the team as a whole during the first half of the campaign in particular) was not sufficient to convince Poles to again trade out of the chance to draft a new franchise passer. He, head coach Matt Eberflus and many Bears players publicly praised the Ohio State product but for some time it has been clear a trade would take place.

The matter of Fields’ market has led to challenges for Chicago’s front office. A shortlist of logical landing spots was in place before the outset of free agency, but very few teams made an aggressive push to acquire him knowing Poles was in position to sell at a low price. As one veteran QB domino fell after another this past week – including, perhaps most importantly, Kirk Cousins signing with the Falcons – signs increasingly pointed to Fields being destined for a QB2 gig. A team such as the Rams had been floated as a reasonable spot, but Los Angeles has just added Jimmy Garoppolo as its backup. That left Pittsburgh as one of the few remaining teams without a relatively certain quarterback depth chart in place.

Poles made it clear at the Combine that he wanted Fields’ future to be sorted out as soon as possible. While the Bears have indeed “done right” by him with this deal getting finalized well before the draft, it obviously marks a massive disappointment given the move to trade up and select him three years ago. Like fellow 2021 first-round draftees Trey Lance and Mac Jones, however, Fields has now been dealt to a new team with the possibility of a fresh start. The latter has one year remaining on his rookie contract, but Pittsburgh could add another via the fifth-year option. Picking up that $25.6MM option would come as a major surprise, however, given the fact Wilson will serve as the starter in 2024.

For the coming campaign, though, the Steelers will have a highly cost-effective QB room. Wilson signed for $1.2MM since he is owed $39MM guaranteed from the Broncos. Fields’ 2024 cap hit, meanwhile, will check in at just over $3.2MM. Those two passers will each have plenty to play for in the coming campaign as they spearhead the transition to an offense guided by new OC Arthur Smith and which no longer features wideout Diontae Johnson.

Reacting to the news of the deal, Fields has offered a farewell to Chicago after three seasons in the city. The Bears – a team which has made several moves to augment its skill-position corps this week – will prepare to move in a new direction next moth when they add a passer first overall. As they look to break through for a postseason win for the first time since 2016, meanwhile, the Steelers will boast an intriguing quarterback room featuring little certainty beyond the coming campaign.

Ely Allen contributed to this post.

Steelers To Trade Kenny Pickett To Eagles

March 15th, 2024 at 11:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

So much for Russell Wilson needing to compete for the Steelers’ starting job. Hours after the Steelers announced the Wilson signing, CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson reports they are preparing to trade Kenny Pickett to the Eagles.

The Steelers will indeed send Pickett to the Eagles in a pick-swap trade, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Two years remain on the former first-rounder’s contract. Pickett will be set to back up Jalen Hurts in Philly. Here is how the trade will break down:

Eagles receive:

Kenny Pickett
2024 No. 120 overall pick

Steelers receive:

2024 No. 98 overall pick
Eagles’ two highest 2025 seventh-round choices

Demoted for Mason Rudolph late last season, Pickett wanted to move on. While competition was reported initially, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport indicates the behind-closed-doors understanding upon the Steelers signing Wilson pointed to the former Pro Bowler being the starter and Pickett staying at QB2. Pickett, then, preferred a fresh start, Schefter adds.

This development may not have been the team’s plan when the offseason began. Mike Tomlin had said Pickett would be given the QB1 job but that he would need to earn it by winning a competition. The Steelers did not observe Pickett handle the Wilson news well, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac. After indicating he was fine competing for the job, Pickett soured on the situation once the Wilson signing became imminent, SI.com’s Albert Breer tweets.

Following Pickett’s disappointment when the team kept Rudolph in the lineup late last year — a stretch that featured Pickett, per Dulac, refusing to dress as the emergency third QB in Week 17 — the team is moving on. Pickett had made it clear to teammates he thought he was the better option to close last season, via ESPN’s Kimberley Martin. Some in the building, however, believed Rudolph was the better option for 2024. In fairness to Pickett, veteran reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala indicates the Steelers reneged on their pledge that he would compete for the job upon informing him Wilson would take over.

Famous for his “volunteers, not hostages” M.O., Tomlin will sign off on this early separation. Rudolph has since signed with the Titans, putting the Steelers in the market for a backup QB once again. They released Mitch Trubisky earlier this year; he has since returned to the Bills.

A New Jersey native, Pickett grew up an Eagles fan. He then became quite familiar with the Steelers while playing at Pitt. The Steelers chose Pickett 20th overall in 2022, naming him as Ben Roethlisberger‘s heir apparent. But Pickett has not shown much to indicate he could fill those shoes. He will now join Sam Howell and Desmond Ridder as 2022 draftees (and primary 2023 starters) traded over the past two days. The 2022 draft class received low marks at the time; other than Brock Purdy, the early returns have not been good.

Due to signing bonus proration, the Steelers will eat more than $8MM in dead money on this trade. Of course, they are set to pay their new starter the veteran minimum as the Broncos pick up the tab. Wilson alluded to a potential competition at his morning presser Friday, but it is probably clear he was informed that would not happen. Two years remain on Pickett’s rookie contract; the Eagles will have the 25-year-old passer tied to $985K and $2.6MM base salaries.

Pickett ranked 27th in QBR last season and 20th in 2022. The ’22 placement came well ahead of Wilson, who submitted a stunningly woeful season alongside Nathaniel Hackett in his Denver debut. Wilson improved under Sean Payton, but the Broncos still bailed — after some back-and-forth drama — before the veteran’s 2025 salary could become guaranteed this month. The Steelers have largely used homegrown rookies at quarterback this century, going from Roethlisberger to Pickett. While Kordell Stewart held the reins for much of the previous decade, the team did use free agent pickup Tommy Maddox in what became a stopgap capacity ahead of Roethlisberger’s near-two-decade-long tenure.

Wilson, 35, will be set to operate in a bridge capacity as well. Though, it should not be expected the Steelers use a high draft choice to add an heir apparent this year. Despite Wilson’s step back in Denver — one that could potentially threaten his Hall of Fame status — Pittsburgh is set to give him the keys. Dulac adds this is the quickest the Steelers have jettisoned a first-round pick since releasing 1996 Round 1 tackle Jamain Stephens following his second season.

On Feb. 29, GM Omar Khan said he had full faith in Pickett. While he cited competition as important for the would-be third-year starter, a recent report also indicated a meeting between the QB and new OC Arthur Smith went well. But the Wilson news emerged soon after. While Wilson has not shown much of his Seahawks form since the 2022 blockbuster trade, Pickett winning a potential competition seemed unrealistic. There will now be no competition involving Pickett this year, as Hurts is entrenched as the Eagles’ starter.

Pickett has thrown just 13 touchdown passes in 25 games, starting 24 of those. Although the Steelers rolled out a poor offense for most of Pickett’s tenure, he showed some promise late in his rookie season. But 2022’s top QB pick did not build on that form last season. This led to OC Matt Canada being fired. This preceded a Pickett ankle injury that required surgery. The 6-foot-3 passer will carry just a 6.3 yards-per-attempt figure to Philly, which did not re-sign Marcus Mariota this offseason.

Steelers To Sign WR Van Jefferson

March 15th, 2024 at 5:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

Making a major switch at quarterback — a matter that cleared up today via the Kenny Pickett trade — the Steelers are in need at wide receiver after moving Diontae Johnson and Allen Robinson off the roster. An ex-Robinson teammate will be part of the plan.

The team is bringing in Van Jefferson, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac. Giving Jefferson a one-year deal, Pittsburgh is eyeing the former second-round Rams draftee as a depth piece.

A second-generation NFL receiver, Jefferson is changing teams for the second time in six months. The Rams moved Jefferson’s rookie contract to the Falcons early last season; the deal did not move the needle for an Atlanta team that struggled to find a reliable complement for Drake London at the position. Jefferson, 27, only caught 20 passes for 209 yards between his Rams and Falcons stints last year.

Jefferson’s most notable NFL work came back in 2021, when he helped a Rams team that changed WR2s midseason. Odell Beckham Jr. effectively replaced Robert Woods, with the latter suffering an ACL tear days after the OBJ addition. Jefferson stayed the course and totaled 802 receiving yards and six touchdowns. He added nine receptions for 102 yards in the playoffs, collecting a Super Bowl ring soon after. A knee surgery kept the Florida alum on the shelf for much of 2022. He totaled 369 yards in 11 2022 games — snagging the game-winner in Baker Mayfield‘s memorable debut — for a disappointing Rams team.

The Johnson trade solidifies George Pickens as their top wide receiver. While his long-range work would stand to benefit new QB1 Russell Wilson, the Steelers will add more pieces here. Only slot player Calvin Austin resides as a notable auxiliary option beyond Jefferson. Considering the franchise’s success adding at this position in the draft, that should be considered a mortal lock given this class’ depth.

Steelers Sign QB Russell Wilson

March 15th, 2024 at 10:22am CST by Ely Allen

MARCH 15: The Steelers announced the signing Friday. While Wilson will become by far the highest-profile quarterback on Pittsburgh’s roster, the former Seahawks and Broncos starter is still expected to compete with Pickett for the starting job.

MARCH 10: After a strange two-year tenure in Denver followed an outstanding 10 seasons as a Seahawk, Russell Wilson plans to take his next snaps with the Steelers, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. What was anticipated to be a potentially lengthy and competitive free agency ends up being determined just before the start of the free agent period.

Wilson seemed to confirm the report by posting his own video on X. It is a one-year contract, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac tweets. Wilson’s third team will enjoy the chance to have him on a veteran-minimum deal, due to his Broncos situation, and the Washington Post’s Mark Maske confirms the Steelers are likely to pay Wilson only $1.21MM.

Wilson’s short stint on the market started less than a week ago, when the Broncos made the decision to announce their plans to release him at the start of the new league year and granted him the right to communicate with outside teams. After failing to come to an agreement on a slight restructure to his five-year, $245MM deal with the Broncos, Denver is set to eat a record-obliterating dead money sum.

The Broncos will be hit with $85MM over the next two years, with nearly half that financial lump coming in 2024. By waiting until free agency opens on Wednesday to officially release him, the Broncos will be able to designate him as a post-June 1 release to minimize the historic damage this year. Now, Wilson heads to the Steel City to compete for the starting job with Kenny Pickett.

Pickett won the starting job in his rookie season from the newly departed Mitchell Trubisky, but this year, veteran backup Mason Rudolph took over as starter while Pickett was hurt and kept it after Pickett was healthy enough to play again. There were some in the Steelers’ camp who supported a camp battle between the two for the right to start in 2024, as opposed to gifting the job back to Pickett without a fight. Things sure change now.

With Wilson coming to town, Pickett may be in an uphill battle — one in which Rudolph is unlikely to be involved. In fact, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic reports that Rudolph’s reps met with the team Sunday, and with the Wilson news now public, it is hard to imagine Rudolph stays in Pittsburgh this year. This likely means that Pickett will find himself on the bench learning from a Super Bowl-winning nine-time Pro Bowler.

Wilson visited the Steelers late this week, after he met with the Giants. The Raiders also loomed as a potential option, but the Steelers surged to the front of the line. New OC Arthur Smith and Wilson met for several hours, per CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson, who adds Wilson’s Steelers homework effort involved reaching out to some players in advance of the meeting. A productive Smith-Pickett meeting took place last month in Florida, but the Steelers are changing their QB dynamic in the aftermath.

It is difficult to overstate how far Wilson drifted off course in Denver. The Broncos’ hiring of Nathaniel Hackett and giving Wilson considerable autonomy in the design of their 2022 offense resulted in a stunning freefall for the decorated quarterback. The Broncos fired Hackett after 15 games. Brought in partially to salvage their Wilson investment, Sean Payton coaxed a better season from the 12th-year veteran. But the year involved behind-the-scenes drama and a benching ahead of Denver’s Week 17 game. That week represented a sea change for the Broncos, effectively confirming Wilson would be elsewhere in 2024 and the 2022 trade — headlined by two first-round picks going to Seattle — will go down as an all-time debacle.

The Wilson contract, which was set to begin its extension years in 2024, will likely lead to the Steelers paying only $1.21MM for a potential Hall of Fame passer. Offset language will stick the Broncos with the rest of the tab, barely cutting into their dead money. Wilson is eager to help his new team on the contract front, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, and it will certainly be easier to build a roster around him compared to what became of his $49MM-AAV Broncos contract.

Wilson accused the Broncos of threatening to bench him unless he moved his injury guarantee vesting date from 2024 to 2025. That would have given the Broncos more flexibility. While the Broncos have denied a benching ultimatum was part of the equation, GM George Paton confirmed they wanted to adjust the guarantee date. Wilson refused and, as should be expected, omitted the Paton-Payton tandem from his Denver farewell post.

Wilson, 35, is the only quarterback in NFL history in the 40,000-5,000 club, reaching that air-ground place in Denver. Wilson did throw 26 touchdown passes compared to just eight interceptions last season, but Payton kept a tight leash on the improvisational passer. Even as the Broncos strung together a five-game midseason win streak, amid the behind-the-curtain drama, Wilson was not leading a high-octane attack. QBR ranked Wilson 21st last season. That marked an improvement from his 2022 disaster, but the former third-round find appears to be somewhere past his prime. The Steelers will determine how far.

Pickett has not progressed like the Steelers hoped. While Mike Tomlin said Pickett would be the starter coming into the offseason program, Wilson’s presence probably changes the equation. Wilson has seen a number of detractors emerge in recent years, but Pickett not keeping his QB1 gig through a second season is eye-opening. The Pitt product has thrown only 13 touchdown passes in 25 career games. Even with Wilson past his Seattle peak, Pickett will face stiff competition to recapture the job.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post.

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