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Just five days after beating out Justin Fields for the Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback job, 12-year veteran Russell Wilson was selected by his teammates as one of four team captains for the 2024 season.
The decision to make Russell Wilson a team captain comes as a bit of surprise for a multitude of reasons. First, Wilson has only been a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers since March. Second, Wilson's reputation around the league has taken a significant hit over the last handful of seasons. And third, as previously mentioned, Wilson went through much of training camp in a heated battle with Justin Fields for the starting job. Yet still, when it was time to decide who would be leading the Steelers onto the field each and every game, Wilson's number was called.
“Russ' resume is a unique one in terms of lift and success, and that tends to play a factor in the decision-making, but not from a decision-maker's perspective,” Tomlin said earlier this week after Wilson was named the Steelers' starter, per Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com. “It's just the fruit of his labor. He's seen a lot and done a lot, and I think it was reflected in the way he played and conducted himself.”
There's certainly no questioning Russell Wilson's NFL resume. In 2014, Russ became the 3rd-youngest quarterback in league history to lead his team to a championship when the Seattle Seahawks trounced the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. His 115 career regular season wins are 15th-most in NFL history, and he currently ranks 19th all-time in career passing yards. But with all of that said, recent years haven't been as kind to Russ.
After finishing each of the first nine years of his NFL career with a winning record, Wilson has been below .500 in each of the last three seasons. His time in Seattle ended in disappointing fashion in 2021, setting the scene for a tumultuous two-year tenure with the Denver Broncos in which Wilson went 11-19 as the team's starter. Wilson was released by the Broncos following the 2023 season, despite the fact that Denver traded away of bounty of assets for Wilson less than two years earlier.
Steelers banking on Russell Wilson's veteran leadership
Even if Russell Wilson isn't the player he once was, what he could do for the franchise transcends on-field performance. For the last half-decade, the Steelers have been in no man's land when it comes to their starting QB. The final few seasons of Ben Roethlisberger were disappointing, Kenny Pickett was a swing and a miss, and the likes of Mitchell Trubisky, Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges were never meant to be the answer. Wilson may not be the long-term answer, but there are hopes that his presence will be steady enough in 2024 that Pittsburgh could return to the postseason yet again.
“He's a strong leader, and he brings veteran experience,” says Steelers teammate Miles Killebrew, who was also named a captain along with Wilson and defensive stars Cameron Heyward and TJ Watt. “He's been doing it at a high level for a long time and I think with that experience [he] kind of calms nerves, and he can lead guys through various situations because he's seen it. He's seen a lot, so just a calming presence, I would say.”
The Steelers open their season with a visit to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon.
