ESPN Claims Steelers QB Russell Wilson is Owed 'An Apology'

There's a Russell Wilson resurgence in Pittsburgh, but is he owed an apology?

Dec 8, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) reacts as he takes the field against the Cleveland Browns at Acrisure Stadium. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Since Russell Wilson was inserted as the Pittsburgh Steelers' starting quarterback in Week 12, the team has gone 6-1. Out with Justin Fields, in with Russ.

As the weeks march ahead, Wilson seems to be in the midst of a renaissance — the type the Denver Broncos thought they were getting when they traded a boatload of first and second-round picks and three good players to the Seattle Seahawks to acquire him in 2022.

In seven starts, Wilson has passed for 1,784 yards and 12 touchdowns, with three interceptions. He's also chipped in an additional score on the ground.

The 36-year-old Wilson is playing so well for Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, that ESPN's Mike Greenberg fell on the sword, admitting he was wrong about the quarterback, and seemed to pound the table for a collective eating of some crow around the NFL.

"This is not a cute, Mike Tomlin well-coached team that is going to sneak into the back of the playoffs. This is a team that is playing great. He's completing 65% of his passes, 12 touchdowns and three picks, and he didn't start starting until the middle of the season. Russell Wilson is playing legitimately excellent football and I and a lot of people I think owe him an apology," Greenberg said.

"I spent this whole offseason basically saying, 'Russell Wilson's career is over.' ... I was dead wrong." 😤 @Espngreeny says he owes an apology to Russell Wilson after his play with the Steelers this season 😅 pic.twitter.com/qNoHX8bwRA

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) December 10, 2024

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Indeed, Wilson seems to have found the second wind that he couldn't quite catch in Denver. Wilson was impervious to Sean Payton's Midas touch with quarterbacks, even though he did produce at a much higher level compared to his first year as a Bronco.

With Payton, Wilson passed for 26 touchdowns in 15 starts, with eight interceptions. But the forced marriage was likely doomed from the start, as Wilson's loose, backyard style ran counter to Payton's timing-based passing concepts.

One of the big kickers for Wilson in Denver was the number of sacks he took. Payton could not abide it. After getting sacked a whopping 55 times in Year 1 with the Broncos, Wilson was sacked 45 times under Payton's purview.

Adding to Payton's frustrations with Wilson was the ball insecurity. Wilson didn't put the ball in harm's way often via the air, but with all that scrambling he did — it turns out he doesn't have eyes on the back of his head — and he fumbled 10 times, losing eight of them.

It was an oil-and-water situation. Cats and dogs. Polar opposites unable to find a middle ground to build upon.

Payton lost his patience quickly, benching Wilson with two games left to go in the 2023 season. Cut to March, and the Broncos released the nine-time Pro Bowler, taking an $85 million dead-cap hit on the chin.

Oct 29, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton talks with quarterback Russell Wilson (3) and quarterbacks coach Davis Webb in the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Empower Field at Mile High. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Since Wilson was making north of $30 million to not play for the Broncos in 2024, he signed a one-year deal with the Steelers worth little more than the veteran minimum. So far, it's worked out for Wilson, and even though his tectonic trade set the Broncos back a few years, I would think that most fans wish him well.

Ripping the Wilson band-aid off has also worked wonders for the Broncos. Payton indentified and hand-picked his next quarterback in the 2024 NFL draft, and the Broncos selected Bo Nix with the No. 12 overall pick.

Nix has been named Offensive Rookie of the Week multiple times this season, and garnered the Offensive Rookie of the Month award for October. The legit Offensive Rookie of the Year threat has led the Broncos to an 8-5 start with a two-game lead for the No. 7 seed in the AFC playoffs, passing for 2,842 yards and 17 touchdowns with eight interceptions.

Nix's 22 total touchdowns is the most among 2024 rookie quarterbacks. The Broncos are on the verge of snapping an eight-year playoff drought with him at the helm.

Meanwhile, the Steelers sit at 10-3 and in control of the AFC North. If the playoffs started this weekend, the Steelers would be the No. 3 seed, set to host the Baltimore Ravens in the Wildcard Round, while the Broncos would be the No. 7 seed poised to travel to Upstate New York to face the Buffalo Bills.

Some relationships simply aren't meant to be. And that was definitely the case with Wilson and Payton. Some people argue that the Broncos did Wilson "dirty," while others believe he reaped exactly what he sowed in the Mile High City.

For posterity, I hopped off the Russ train after Week 5 last season. I could no longer see him fulfilling all the hopes and meeting the expectations of the blockbuster trade that brought him to Denver, even with Payton holding his hand.

The Broncos are in a much healthier place now, and after 2025, the effects of Wilson's albatross of a contract will mostly dissipate. Denver opted to absorb the bigger chunk of Wilson's dead-money hit in 2024, but it'll have to eat another $32 million next year.

The Broncos went extremely bare-bones in the personnel department this offseason because they had no choice, betting on bargain-bin free agents and the rookie draft class to get up to speed quickly. And that's exactly what has transpired, putting the Broncos ahead of schedule on their return to competitive relevancy.

Wilson and the Steelers will face a big decision after the season, but that team is absolutely built. The Steelers are no joke and Russ is a very experienced quarterback in the playoffs.

Interestingly, if the Broncos beat the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday and the Los Angeles Chargers the week following and manage to secure the No. 5 playoff seed, Payton and Wilson could have a head-to-head grievance date in the Wildcard Round at Acrisure Stadium. The Fields-led Steelers defeated the Broncos in Week 2 at Mile High in what was Nix's second-ever NFL start.

A lot has changed in Denver since then. Not only has Nix quickly evolved into a top-shelf quarterback whose poise and production belies his relative inexperience, but the Broncos defense has been honed into a devastating tool that gets after the quarterback and stops the run. The Steelers have changed, too, becoming an offense that can be explosive at times with Wilson slinging the rock.

Broncos-Steelers as a playoff matchup would be an utter must-see blessing courtesy of the Football Gods. But for now, props and congrats to Wilson for having himself a season in Pittsburgh.

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