Nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback and former Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson plans to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers, league sources told ESPN.
Wilson will sign a team-friendly, one-year deal in which the Denver Broncos, who told him last week he would be released, will pay him $38 million in salary while he wears the black and yellow.
In a social media post on Sunday night, Wilson wrote: “Year 13. Grateful.” It was accompanied by a video of the Steelers and their fans.
Year 13. Grateful. @Steelers pic.twitter.com/0U4Q2sRtXs
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) March 11, 2024
With the Broncos' permission because he was under contract before the start of the new league year, Wilson visited with Steelers officials in Pittsburgh for more than six hours on Friday. He met with coach Mike Tomlin and new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Both parties had mutual interests, which led to a one-year deal.
Wilson now heads to Pittsburgh with Kenny Pickett, the Steelers' 2022 first-round pick, the only quarterback currently under contract with the team. Mason Rudolph enters free agency after starting three games for Pittsburgh last season.
Wilson, 35, was informed by the Broncos last Monday that they would let him go after the start of the new league year, a two-season run in which Denver went 11-19 and missed the playoffs. He finished the season with 3,070 passing yards to go with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions and was benched with two games remaining in 2023.
The Broncos signed Wilson to a five-year, $242.6 million contract in 2022 after he arrived in a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Seahawks. They will receive $85 million over the next two seasons due to the release.
Wilson spent 10 seasons with 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 with 334 touchdowns and 106 interceptions.
Wilson was asked about his future during an “I Am Athlete” podcast with former Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall last month and said winning is his priority.
“In the next two years, I want to win two [Super Bowls]I want to feel the cool of that cup again,” he told Marshall. “I love the city (Denver) and everything, but you want to be, too. [in] A place that loves you. All I want to do is win, that's all I care about.”
He enjoyed a win against the Steelers during his career. In two starts against Tomlin and the Steelers, he is 2-0 with eight touchdown passes, no interceptions and a 147.1 passer rating.
The Steelers' 2024 schedule includes a game against the Broncos in Denver, which will now feature Wilson's return.
