Russell Wilson’s regular season may not have turned many heads, but his trade rumors are definitely making waves. And at this point, being a 13-year veteran QB doesn’t seem to favor him. The reason? Well, the Pittsburgh Steelers may pick Justin Fields over him, considering he’s much younger and athletic than him. And if you’re thinking that it can’t get any messier for Wilson—think again.

Ever since the Baltimore Ravens ended their Super Bowl dream, many reports revealed a turbulent relationship between Wilson and the Steelers’ offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith. According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Wilson and Smith have had issues ever since the regular season. Dulac noted that the OC wants his QB to avoid changing plays and the line of scrimmage. But Wilson? Nah, he’s had an otherwise approach, especially in the Steelers’ 2 games against the Bengals.

“According to several sources, Smith did not want Wilson changing plays at the line of scrimmage, like he did in Cincinnati, and deviating from the game plan. Wilson’s desire to attack with the pass and throw down the field clashed with Smith’s run-first mentality, causing philosophical friction between the two.” Translation: in the week 12 game against the Bengals, Wilson’s offense was on fire as the QB threw for 414 yards and racked up three touchdowns.

The Bengals entered the gridiron with their usual strategy of using 5 DL front in the 1st down. They showed 5 DL six times, and for 5 times, the Steelers responded by throwing the ball. The result? Wilson and his squad threw for 74 yards and recorded four first downs. The kicker?

While Wilson believes in pass and throw mentality, the offensive coordinator believes in a run-first approach. That said, Smith wanted Wilson to avoid change of plays at the line of scrimmage and restrict him from changing the game plans. But! But!! That strategy didn’t work out in the Steelers’ favor when they clashed against the Bengals in their week 18 matchup.

Wilson and the squad came out ready to pound the rock, but the Bengals were totally ready for it. Long story short, the Pittsburgh team repeatedly kept the ball on the ground and managed just 3.2 yards per carry. Now, that was a major red flag for Russell Wilson. The QB completed 17 for 31 threw for just 148 yards, and racked up a touchdown. Since then, the QB and the OC have had a rocky relationship, as per Dulac’s reports.

However, when the QB appeared on Pat McAfee’s show, he cleared the air on their relationship. “I like Arthur. I think everybody trusts him. Anytime you lose the game or two, or whatever goes down, people always try to tear things down. I think Arthur’s just a great coach,” he stated. “I think, obviously, he’s been a head coach, and we love trying to find ways to compete every day and just get better. And so, you know, he’s a great coach.”

All in all, after 5 consecutive losses and amidst the QB drama in the Steelers’ locker room, Russell Wilson has yet to get a green light on his contract extension from the team.

Steelers eyeing Matthew Stafford over Russell Wilson?

Forget the Russell Wilson and Justin Fields debate. There’s some catchy news in the market. At this point, when it’s unclear whether the Steelers will pick Wilson or Fields, they’ve got an external option. Yep, you guessed that right. It’s none other than the Rams’ QB, Matthew Stafford. But what’s causing the plot twist out of nowhere?

The Rams are thinking about moving on from their veteran wide receiver, Cooper Kupp, who, by the way, is Stafford’s good buddy. Now, if the Rams decide to go the same route with Stafford, the Steelers might actually be in a good spot to land him. NFL insider Diana Russini was chatting with reporter Robert Mays on Scoop City, and Mays made a pretty convincing case for why Mike Tomlin and the Steelers could be the perfect match for the Super Bowl-winning QB. Doesn’t that sound interesting?

“I think a lot of these teams that need a quarterback, I’m not sure Matthew Stafford and what he would cost is the best solution, Pittsburgh has a little bit of financial wiggle room,” Mays said.“They could potentially do it. I think that’s the team I keep coming back to because I think them making these incremental steps doing these things.” Well, looking ahead to the 2025 season, their current top 51 player salaries amount to approximately $238.58M, and they are projected to have a significant cap flexibility of around $53.9M.

On top of that, Stafford is in the same class as Wilson, and he’s probably gonna play one or two more seasons. That means the Steelers can bring out another plot twist in their quarterback saga this coming offseason.

Mays further added, “I wonder if you change what the offense feels like with Matthew Stafford. I just think that they have, if I’m looking at a team that otherwise is set up to potentially win in 2025 and needs a quarterback as part of that equation, I think the Steelers make the most sense.” But at the end of the day, what we know is a drop, and what we do not know is an ocean. It would be exciting to see what the general manager, Oman Khan, has on his NFL bucket list for the following season.