In a move that signals the Pittsburgh Steelers will have no returning quarterbacks for the second year in a row, Russell Wilson agreed to a one-year contract with the New York Giants, according to ESPN and NFL Network reports.
Wilson, who started the final 12 games of the 2024 season, including playoffs, for the Steelers, will get $10.5 million guaranteed in a deal that could be worth $21 million, per reports.
The Wilson deal also removes the Giants as an option for Aaron Rodgers, who met with Steelers management last Friday but has yet to announce whether he intends to join the team or retire.
The Steelers already have signed Mason Rudolph, who spent the 2024 season in Tennessee, but now have lost Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen in free agency. Those three quarterbacks were on one-year contracts with the Steelers.
Coincidentally, Wilson and Fields likely will be the starters for the two New York teams. Fields agreed to a two-year, $40 million contract with the Jets two weeks ago.
Team president Art Rooney II said in January the Steelers were open to bringing back Wilson for the 2025 season. The fact Wilson remained unsigned for so long in free agency was an indication he was nothing more than a fallback plan for the organization.
With NFL free agency set to enter its third week, the Steelers continue to await a decision from the 41-year-old Rodgers, a four-time NFL MVP. The Steelers are perhaps the only remaining team interested in signing Rodgers after the Minnesota Vikings reportedly bowed out last week.
In the Giants, who also have signed Jameis Winston in free agency, Wilson will be on his third team in as many seasons. He joined the Steelers last season on a minimum-salary, one-year contract after his release from the Denver Broncos, who paid the remaining $39 million on Wilson’s deal.
A calf injury suffered during the annual training camp reporting day conditioning test ultimately kept Wilson out for the first six games of the regular season. He would start the rest of the season, including a wild-card loss at the Baltimore Ravens.
Wilson won six of his first seven starts, but the Steelers lost their final five.
During his first seven Steelers starts, Wilson completed 64.8% of his passes, averaged 255 yards per game and accounted for 13 touchdowns to only three interceptions.
Then came the team collapse, one that coincided with Wilson’s numbers declining. During the four-game losing streak to close out the regular season, Wilson completed less than 62% of his passes, had a 81.3 passer rating and a 4-to-2 touchdown pass to interception ratio.
(Staff writer Chris Adamski contributed to this report.)