Former Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson is now on the Pittsburgh Steelers, and his getting benched for Justin Fields could end his NFL career. The Broncos are paying Wilson nearly $40 million in 2024 to not play for the team, and the Seattle Seahawks didn't have an issue trading him either. Right now, Wilson has an uphill battle to save his career in the NFL, which began in 2012.
Now on the Steelers, Wilson is clearly the QB1 in the 'Burgh. To make things a bit more interesting, the Steelers traded for Justin Fields earlier this offseason. The thing is, though, is that Justin Fields is quite the poor quarterback, but some are still convincing themselves that Fields can be a starter in this league.
If nothing else, Fields is more explosive than Wilson and is a decade younger, so there's that. You have to wonder what would be next for Russell Wilson if he played poorly enough in 2024 to get benched for Justin Fields. It's one thing if the Steelers took a first-round QB this year and benched Wilson for that QB.
However, Fields is a bottom-five QB in the NFL and there isn't much to like about his game. If the Steelers coaching staff felt like they'd rather give Justin Fields a shot to start over Russell Wilson, where would Wilson go from there? He is slated to be a free agent in 2025, so he'd hit the open market.
But who would sign a QB who'd then be entering his age-37 season? Wilson is best when he can create off-schedule plays, but how much would a 37-year-old even be able to do? It would be a sad ending for one of the more explosive and perhaps best dual-threat quarterbacks of all time. The Denver Broncos had a ton of hope that Russell Wilson could revive the franchise, but not only did he not do that, but his NFL career could be over after the 2024 season.