Coach Mike Tomlin Says Russell Wilson’s Drive During a Sub-Par Broncos’ Stint Made Him an Attractive Choice During Recruitment

There have been more than a few QB debacles in the NFL over the last few years, but Russell Wilson’s failed two-year stint with the Denver Broncos has to be one of the worst of the bunch. Wilson and the team struggled mightily, and in the end, Denver decided to take a record dead cap hit ($85 million) to get him off the team, a stinging indictment of their belief in his abilities.

While appearing as a guest on The Pat McAfee Show this week, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin spoke about why he and his team still wanted to bring Wilson in. Many teams likely saw the Wilson-Denver saga as a negative sign that made them stay away from the veteran quarterback. However, Tomlin felt the opposite way.

The head coach said that Wilson going through that adversity with the Broncos and showing the ability to come out the other side with his confidence and drive intact was one of the most “attractive” aspects for him and the Steelers front office.

“His talents, the way he plays the position, his competitive spirit, his resume. All of those things were attractive to us. You couple that with a guy that experienced some personal or short-term difficulties, man, he had something to prove. That was attractive to me as well. A guy looking for a bounce back, a guy working with an edge, a guy that knows he can do it, and just needs an opportunity to show that again.”

As McAfee noted, Russell Wilson recently revealed that it was Tomlin and the Steelers who were the first to get in contact with the QB following his release from the Broncos.

Wilson had arrived in the Rocky Mountains to much fanfare in 2022. The Broncos traded a boatload of draft picks to get him, including two first-rounders and two second-rounders. They then handed Wilson, who was 34 at the time, a five-year, $245 million deal. Obviously, expectations were going to be sky-high from the outset.

Instead, the Broncos flopped about as hard as you could imagine a team flopping after a signing of such magnitude. Wilson had his worst season as a pro, and head coach Nathaniel Hackett was canned before the season’s end.

Super Bowl champion head coach Sean Payton joined the fold in 2023. However, it was clear from the jump that things weren’t working with him and Wilson. In fairness to Payton, Wilson was not his guy. He had no commitment or preference for him as the starting QB.

Nonetheless, Wilson actually had a solid season in 2023. He threw for 3,000+ yards, had a solid 26-8 TD-INT ratio, and his 98.0 passer rating was the 8th-best mark in the league. And yet, interactions between Wilson and Payton, and even Wilson and some teammates, painted a picture of a player who was becoming a bit of a pariah in Denver.

He was eventually benched in the final weeks of the season. It was a move that the Broncos clearly made to save money but which they argued was a football move. Wilson, understandably, was none too pleased, and the writing was on the wall for his exit from Denver.

Denver cut Wilson despite the massive dead cap hit, and he promptly signed to join the Steelers. The star quarterback knew that he was still owed the full $39 million in 2024 from his massive Broncos contract. That meant that the lower the contract he signed with his new team, the larger percentage of that $39 million Denver would have to pay him.

Wilson signed for the veteran minimum of $1.2 million, forcing Denver to pay him $37.8 to play for the Steelers in 2024. No doubt, it was Wilson’s way of giving the team that treated him so poorly one final “screw you” on his way out the door.

Now, Wilson is in the midst of his best season in years, and the Broncos actually seem to be on the right path as well. Clearly, Payton being able to handpick a QB of his choosing—rookie Bo Nix—was important to the offensive guru.