Russell Wilson is back to cooking. He's back to being Mr. Unlimited. He's back to doing the things we saw him do when he was a member of the Seattle Seahawks.
Unfortunately, Wilson is not doing these things as a member of the Denver Broncos. He's cooking for the Pittsburgh Steelers, largely on the Denver Broncos' dime. It's well documented at this point that Wilson is being paid just under $38 million by the Denver Broncos this season while the Steelers pay the veteran minimum for what appears to be top-level quarterback play.
So what in the world happened? Why did the Denver Broncos not get this version of Russell Wilson?
Russell Wilson has the Steelers looking like a Super Bowl contender
This version of Russell Wilson is the guy everyone in Broncos Country hoped they were getting when the blockbuster trade was struck in the Spring of 2022. Wilson was acquired by the Broncos in a trade after Aaron Rodgers decided to re-sign with the Green Bay Packers, and even though all of that transpired just over 2.5 years ago, it feels like a lifetime at this point.
The Broncos have themselves a legitimate Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate in Bo Nix, and a quarterback they can build around. So it doesn't hurt as bad, but it still stings to see Wilson playing as well as he is for the Steelers when we never got that in Denver.
A lot of box score scouts out there will point to Wilson's 26 touchdowns and 8 interceptions last year in Denver and say that they can't believe anyone thought Russ was "cooked" instead of cooking, but anyone who actually watched the Broncos last year knows that the offense was not sustainable. A great case-in-point was the team's trip to Houston last season in which the offense was 0-for-13 on third downs. The inconsistency of the offense was maddening. The lack of a true mid-range passing game buried the team on a number of occasions.
The Broncos went on a great run last year but Wilson was not a fit for the Sean Payton offense nor did it feel like he was the best fit for the organization.
But that has all flipped on its head in Pittsburgh.
The pressure is seemingly off Wilson in a way. He didn't even open the year as the Steelers' starter as he dealt with an injury. Unlike in his first year in Denver, he didn't play through injury in his first year in Pittsburgh. Wilson has noted on a couple of occasions that he played through a torn lat in 2022 with the Broncos, which is true, but if he was hurting that bad out there, it might have been better for him to just get right.
But hindsight is 20/20, isn't it?
Wilson actually dealt with a variety of injuries in his first year in Denver, which were attributed by many to a significant weight gain by Russ in the offseason. Even though Nathaniel Hackett was an abject disaster as a head coach, Wilson wasn't playing well, either.
Wilson has posted a QB rating of 104.3 in his first season with the Steelers. He's completing nearly 66 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns compared to three interceptions. He has the Steelers on pace to finish with the 3rd seed in the AFC playoffs -- at worst. And wouldn't it be something if the Broncos could earn the 6th seed and take a trip to Pittsburgh to see him in the Wild Card round?
The reality of Russell Wilson's situation in Denver is that there were too many factors at play to pin the blame on any one person. The Broncos were in a state of ownership transition in 2022. They prematurely rewarded Wilson for "choosing" the Broncos with a near-$250 million contract. Wilson played injured. Nathaniel Hackett was likely hired to lure Aaron Rodgers and it didn't work, and he was an abject disaster as a head coach.
Bringing in Sean Payton seemingly rehabbed Wilson's value a bit, but he wasn't a good fit for Payton's offense.
The stability of the Pittsburgh Steelers as an organization and the presence of head coach Mike Tomlin have been so important for Wilson in "getting right". He's rebounded tremendously after the disastrous two years in Denver and looks like the player the Broncos hoped they were getting when they made that trade.