OT-SIAP: Russell Wilson to sign league-minimum deal with the Steelers
Russell Wilson to sign a league-minimum $1M deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
For Pittsburgh, it's a low-risk, low-reward deal. I suspect that Wilson will beat out Pickett but have no better results, and then Pickett will "win" back the job and produce slightly better results.
It does eliminate one of the better landing spots for McCarthy, assuming he lasted that long. The Steelers have been a good organization for decades, and generally show patience with young players.
Does Denver still have to pick up the rest of the $?
Yes, Denver will pay $38M for next year, and will take an $85M(!) hit against the cap.
March 11th, 2024 at 10:01 PM ^
That's a lot of McMansion bathrooms.
Pittsburgh also gets a free year of Walmart Primadonna.
Pittsburgh can spend the savings on a new All Pro offensive lineman and upgrade some of their others. Then you turn Russell Wilson into a hand-off quarterback.
Yes. This might go down as one of the worst gambles in NFL history.
This would make the steelers an even better landing spot for JJ. Sit behind Wilson for a year, maybe two if Rus plays good. IMO JJ is not a year 1 starter so it's fine if a team already has a starter for next season.
Steelers drafted Pickett two years ago. As long as he doesn’t get traded away at some point before the draft, JJ won’t sniff being drafted by the Steelers.
I was amused by a meme that I saw.
Total Denver victories with Wilson as QB: 11.
Total bathrooms in Wilson's $25M Colorado mansion: 12.
So...$2.27M / victory.
I'm not an NFL owner or GM...so I just don't understand the sublime genius of that kind of investment.
I think the idea was that Denver was just a QB away from being a contender. Wilson seemed like a blue chip QB at the time. Hindsight is 20/20.
That's easy enough to do when Denver is footing nearly the entire bill for a while. The $85 million hit against the cap should work out well for the Broncos, I am sure.
Better than paying a fortune for Cousins. I'm literally awestruck by how dumb that move is...
On the one hand, it sure looks like an overpay. On the other, Atlanta could feasibly sweep the NFC South and contend for home-field advantage.
March 12th, 2024 at 12:01 AM ^
Yep. The NFC South QBs in 2024 are going to be Baker Mayfield, Derek Carr, Bryce Young and Cousins.
It won't take that much for Atlanta to go, say, 5-1 vs. the NFC South. Their out-of-division schedule is also somewhat favorable (they get the AFC West, KC is a likely loss but the other 3 teams were under .500. Dallas & Philly are good - but otherwise, NYG, WAS, MIN, SEA and PIT. That's a lot of teams that are middle-of-the-NFL at best).
Add it all together, a 12-5 record, not totally unlike the 13-4 2022 Vikings, isn't far-fetched.
We like to rag on Cousins for rivalry reasons, and it is an overpay, but not as much as you'd think given the salary cap and the limited number of even average NFL QBs.
That said, Cousins is a perfectly cromulent NFL QB, especially if he has a good OL.
March 11th, 2024 at 10:04 PM ^
Cousins isn't terrible, but for him of all people to be the first QB in NFL history to sign a fully guaranteed contract, he must have one hell of an agent.
Russ is a big cap hit, but less tha Matt Ryan and it will be years before the Browns can cut Watson and get a smaller cap hit.
Wilson was also happy to take league minimum to help a new team and fuck the Broncos.
Can't say I blame him.
As a Sreelers' fan, I can't say I'm happy with the news. Wilson is not a good teammate. Very much a primadonna.
Russ is so old he's a pre-Madonna.
I think she's undead.
How can Denver even field a competitive team with 85M taken off?
It's over two seasons, so $35 million in 2024 and $50 million in 2025.