At the start of the 2024 offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers gave off the appearance that they were committed to Kenny Pickett for the 2024 NFL season.
Head coach Mike Tomlin said that Pickett would get the QB1 job back and there was no indication that they were actually interested in any of the big names at the position that they were being linked to.
Earlier in the week, the Denver Broncos officially decided they would release Russell Wilson more than two months after they had benched him.
It didn’t take very long for the Steelers to decide they wanted to meet with Wilson.
hat meeting drew an interesting reaction from former star wide receiver Antonio Brown.
Along with a picture making fun of the size of Pickett’s hands, Brown tweeted “Kenny Pickett gotta be worried.”
Wilson to the Steelers Seeming More Realistic
The possibility of Wilson joining the Steelers became a whole lot more realistic.
Pittsburgh ended up meeting with the nine-time Pro Bowler on March 8, just three days after the Broncos made their decision on his future.
When the Broncos release Wilson, he’ll be leaving with $85 million in guaranteed money for the next two season and leaving behind the largest dead cap hit in football history.
That opens up a big opportunity for any team looking to land a veteran QB this offseason.
Whatever money he makes with his next team won’t change anything for him. Instead, it will just lessen that cap hit for the Broncos.
That has led to a report that Wilson would only be looking to make the veteran minimum on his next deal.
That should make signing Wilson an easy decision for any team needing a QB upgrade.
Right now, the Steelers look like they’ll be that team, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be bad news for Pickett if they are the team.