Russell Wilson Reacts to Steelers Trading for QB Justin Fields
Less than a week after signing Russell Wilson, the Pittsburgh Steelers shook up their quarterback position by acquiring Justin Fields via trade from the Chicago Bears and trading away Kenny Pickett.
Outside of his rookie season in Seattle, Wilson has never had to compete for a starting job. He certainly never did during his two-year stretch with the Denver Broncos.
But by acquiring Fields, the Steelers' message to Wilson is this: Get ready to sing for your supper.
However, being the generally positive guy that he is, Wilson took to X/Twitter to welcome Fields to Pittsburgh with open arms, hyping up the team's 2024 QB room.
"Let's get it, Justin Fields! QB room 'bout to be fire," Wilson said on X.
Broncos Country can thank Pittsburgh for helping Denver potentially dodge the Fields bullet. There were rumors that the Broncos could look to acquire Fields from Chicago before the NFL draft, and thankfully, it didn't come to fruition.
With the dust settling on Wilson's jettison from the Mile High City, he spoke publicly about how his Broncos tenure ended for the first time last week, offering up a rather pitiful excuse for how things got off to such a rocky start in Year 1 (2022).
"I think it's all about how you look at it," Wilson said via James Palmer of NFL Network. "In life, a lot of times when things don't go your way, you can look at it as disappointing [or] you can look at it as growth moments. For me, my first year [in Denver] I had my lat. I was playing on it, pushing through it. Should I have done that? You know, you compete every day. You got to do what you got to do. Everything didn't go our way. This past year, I felt like myself again. I felt like myself again, so I can't wait to just put on the cleats and go after it."
The Broncos are still in the process of exorcising the Wilson demon. On the hook to pay Wilson $38 million this year (Pittsburgh is only paying him $1M), the Broncos' salary-cap resources will be stretched. It necessitated some tough roster cuts, including long-time team captain and All-Pro safety Justin Simmons.
The Broncos won't be free of the Wilson specter until they find a bonafide franchise quarterback to take up that mantle. While Jarrett Stidham has "the edge" on being the Broncos' QB1 to open up the 2024 season, the team's focus is bent fully on finding a signal-caller in Sean Payton's image in this year's draft.
Stidham plus a first-round QB is the expectation for the Broncos. We'll know a lot more about what this team will look like after Day 1 of the draft, which kicks off on April 27.
In the meantime, Broncos Country can rejoice and take some comfort in the thought that Wilson is no longer Denver's problem. With the Steelers set to play the Broncos in Denver next season, time will tell whether it'll be Wilson or Fields fans will see as the opposing quarterback.
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