Stumbling and crawling, the Steelers made their way to the postseason, only to be crushed by the Baltimore juggernaut. The 28-14 mauling was not how the Steelers thought their season would end after clearing the room and acquiring Super Bowl winner Russell Wilson. Mike Tomlin was keen on signing Wilson and continued to back him throughout the season. But after Saturday’s humiliation, the futures of the HC and the player were up in the air.

The defeat against the Ravens in the Wild Card round wasn’t just another blow to Mike Tomlin’s ambitions and hopes of the Pittsburgh fans, it was a stark reminder of how far the six-time Super Bowl champions have fallen. The loss extended their longest stretch without a playoff victory since the 1972 team, led by 40-year-old coach Chuck Noll, scored the first postseason win in team history. They have no playoff wins over the past eight seasons and their last conference championship win came in 2010.

To add salt to the wound, the Steelers drew the steel curtain on their season with 5 Ls, and Wilson’s late-season performance tanked. In the last 5 weeks, he ranked 30th out of 31 quarterbacks in EPA per dropback. Ouch! Against the Ravens, he eventually helped his team get on the scoreboard in the third quarter, but it was too little too late. With his one-year, $1.2 million contract coming to an end, the R-word is once again going to ring around for Wilson. But what does he think?

Following the season-ending defeat, Wilson made it clear that he wants to remain with the Steelers. But with no contract offer in sight and no rumors suggesting what GM Omar Khan is thinking, there is no certainty that Wilson will be in Pittsburgh come next season. Even if this the end of his career here, he is determined to go on. “The best thing for me personally, what I’m excited about, is just getting ready for the offseason. Getting ready to be my best. I love this game. I got so much more ball left in me,” Wilson said.

At 36, teams might be not lining up for his signature, but the Steelers could be more than happy to keep him. The offseason won’t be easy for Pittsburgh, with Wilson, Justin Fields, and Kyle Allen all set to become free agents. That is your entire quarterback room. While there remain questions on the longevity of Wilson, he could prove to be an able hand to assist anyone whom the Steelers see as the No. 1 QB next season. Moreover, he has shown that he can still go.

On the other hand, should they be looking at the future?

Some folks (hello, hindsight) think the Steelers would’ve been better off rolling with a younger, more versatile QB like Justin Fields. Build around him, they said.

Sure, it might’ve meant a step back—a rare losing season for Mike Tomlin even—but maybe it’d have set the stage for a brighter future. Instead, the Steelers gambled on Wilson. Early on, it worked—sort of. But by midseason, the cracks were obvious. “Russ fooled ’em for a game or two,” said former Giants scout Marc Ross, “and then he went back to being the Russ I’ve seen over the last few years.”

Wilson was favored by Tomlin over Justin Fields, who had helped the Steelers to a 4-2 start. Wilson led the team to four consecutive wins as a starter before finally suffering a defeat in Week 12 against the Browns. Things started to spiral downward soon after.

From Week 15 to 18, Wilson had 3.5 sacks per game. Add a five-game skid to close out the year, and the optimism evaporated. After putting up 28 points and 372 yards of offense in Wilson’s first seven starts, the Steelers averaged only 14 points and 263 yards in their final five losses.

Wilson finished the season with throwing for 2,482 yards with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. A more concerning figure is that he was taken down 33 times this year, ranking fourth in the NFL since he became the starter in Week 7.

Against the Ravens, Russell Wilson’s final stats weren’t terrible—20-of-29, 270 yards, and two touchdowns, however, they didn’t move the needle. Despite the struggles, the veteran QB was adamant that the Steelers have a good team and he wants to be back next year. When asked by the reporters on Monday whether he wants to return to the Steel City next season, he said, “That’s the plan. I love it here and everything else, and I think we have a great football team. Obviously, it didn’t end the way we wanted it to, and I think there’s a lot more to do.”

He was also quick to clarify that there haven’t been talks about his future yet with the Steelers management. “We haven’t had those meetings yet, so we will have those and we’ll go from there.”

Looking ahead, Pittsburgh faces yet another quarterback conundrum. Drafting near the middle of the first round won’t make things easier, and the 2025 QB class isn’t exactly star-studded. Do they roll the dice on a veteran like Aaron Rodgers or Kirk Cousins? Bring back Fields or Wilson? None of those options scream “Super Bowl contender.”

For now, the Steelers are stuck in a holding pattern, staring down an offseason full of tough decisions. Then there is the curious case of Mike Tomlin. What have the Steelers decided with him?

Russell Wilson and Mike Tomlin: A cold welcome in Pittsburgh in 2025?

“This drought is my story,” Mike Tomlin admitted this week. And let’s be real—Steelers fans aren’t exactly throwing parades for him right now. The loss to the Ravens? That was the last straw for many. However, the Steelers front office isn’t pressing the panic button.

According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Steelers don’t plan to fire or trade Tomlin despite another playoff failure. Sure, Tomlin’s résumé is impressive. A .630 win percentage, better than legends like Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher. He’s only 10 wins shy of tying Noll for the most in Steelers history—potentially doing it in 33 fewer games.

But in the Steel City, January wins are the real currency. And here’s the rub: Noll has four Super Bowls, and Tomlin has one. Since 2010, Tomlin’s postseason record is a grim 3-10. All in all, Tomlin is 8-11 in postseason football. For a franchise that measures success in Lombardis, that doesn’t sit well.

So here we are. With postseason droughts and mounting frustrations, can the Steelers recapture their glory? The Steel Curtain has a lot of work to do if it hopes to stop this slow unraveling. Whether Russell Wilson is part of the solution—or just a footnote in their struggles—remains to be seen.