Clear betting favorite emerges to land Russell Wilson

There is plenty of debate as to whether or not the Pittsburgh Steelers want to make a significant quarterback move this offseason. The oddsmakers, however, continue to believe that they will. 

They are currently the leading odds-on favorites to land Russell Wilson this offseason, according to DraftKings. 

DraftKings has the Steelers at -250 to have Wilson as their opening day quarterback when the 2024 season begins. 

Wilson and the Denver Broncos seem headed for a split this offseason after two non-playoff seasons. While Wilson did have a strong bounce-back performance in 2023 on an individual level, his salary is just too much for the Broncos given his level of play. 

What makes Wilson and the Steelers such an intriguing pairing is that even with his decline, he would still probably be a significant upgrade over what the Steelers currently have to work with. Kenny Pickett, the team’s first-round pick in 2022, has not taken a significant step forward in two years and has also dealt with multiple injury issues.

Mason Rudolph, who got the starting job over the final three games of the regular season and the playoffs, is an impending unrestricted free agent.

The Steelers did talk earlier this offseason about having competition for Pickett, but recent reports indicate they may not be looking for one of the top quarterback options that could be available this offseason, including Wilson, Kirk Cousins or Chicago’s Justin Fields. 

On the surface, that seems like a terrible approach. If the Steelers are serious about trying to compete for a championship in 2024, they can’t go into next season with a similar quarterback situation as the 2023 season. They have a top-10 defense, two strong running backs, some talented playmakers on offense and an emerging offensive line that took big strides in the second half of this past season. The biggest thing holding them back is quarterback. 

If they are going to compete in the AFC — especially in their own division where they have to face Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow and Deshaun Watson — they are going to need more than what Pickett and Rudolph can provide.