Deion Sanders hopes Russell Wilson’s profession doesn’t exit with a whimper. Injured and prone to stay the Pittsburgh Steelers’ backup even as soon as totally cleared, Wilson is in peril of getting an invisible 2024 season. A free agent after the season ends, it might affect his market and the way groups view him, doubtlessly making Wilson a backup for a profession that might be shortly winding down.
Becoming a member of Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson on Sunday night time’s Nightcap, Sanders mentioned he hopes Wilson will get one other probability to show he can play.
“I like Russ. I simply need Russ to finish proper. I like everyone to have a pleasant touchdown man. A pleasant protected touchdown and I simply need my brother to finish proper. As a result of I bought love for him. And I simply really feel like he deserves yet another probability, particularly with the quarterbacking across the NFL proper now. He deserve yet another shot.”
Wilson signed with Pittsburgh for the possibility to play and win. To affix the Steelers’ steady tradition and be the hyperlink that would get them over the hump, a franchise struggling to win a playoff recreation. Quarterback play since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement had been bumpy and the staff began three totally different names final yr: Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph.
A late-July calf damage bought Wilson’s summer time off observe however by the tip of the preseason, he was again on the sector and poised to enter the common season because the starter. That modified 72 hours earlier than kickoff, aggravating his calf damage and sitting out the primary 4 video games of the yr, solely dressing because the Steelers’ emergency choice. Now, he’s reportedly again to full well being.
Whereas the Denver Broncos are on the hook to pay him a hefty wage this yr, Wilson might be staring down a depressed market subsequent March. One thing Sanders says might be tough for Wilson to deal with.
“If you’ve been making $30-plus [million], it’s exhausting whenever you’re making 5, six, 9. It’s exhausting. It’s exhausting.”
It’s led to hypothesis that Wilson might ask for a commerce that may permit him to get onto the sector and enhance his worth subsequent free company. It could additionally preserve him related as a beginning quarterback and never “veteran mentor backup” that comes with a drastically diminished price ticket. To this point, there’s been no reporting or indication Wilson desires to play elsewhere however the Steelers additionally haven’t formally named Justin Fields the starter even when such a transfer feels inevitable and ceremonial.
