When the Pittsburgh Steelers traded a 6th round pick to Chicago for former 11th overall pick Justin Fields, the expectation both around the league and within the Steelers organization was that Fields wouldn't be competing for the starting quarterback job in 2024. That spot was reportedly reserved for Russell Wilson, who had agreed to a deal with the Steelers less than a week before Pittsburgh acquired Fields.
However, things changed over the course of the offseason when a calf injury sidelined Russell Wilson throughout much of the month of August, paving the way for Justin Fields to get a Week 1 start. Five weeks later, Fields is still the starter, Wilson is finally nearing full health, and suddenly, Pittsburgh has a quarterback controversy that Mike Tomlin spent the offseason hoping to avoid.
This potentially opens the door for the Pittsburgh Steelers to explore trading Russell Wilson, and one team that could be in business for the former Super Bowl champion is the Las Vegas Raiders.
Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler:
“Wilson's minimum salary would be attractive for teams, assuming he would waive his no-trade clause. And the Raiders were once on his desired list of destinations. This is reaching a boiling point, as Wilson appears to be approaching full health and the Steelers haven't shown an eagerness to move off Fields just yet.”
The Raiders are 2-3, and seem to be going nowhere fast with the quarterback tandem of Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell. With Wilson on a super-cheap one-year deal, the Raiders could decide that pulling the trigger on a deal for the 13-year veteran without sacrificing flexibility to acquire, likely in the 2025 NFL Draft, their quarterback of the future. Assuming Wilson returns to good health and still does provide a team a better chance of winning than Minshew or O'Connell does, the move is a no-brainer.
Interestingly, the Raiders and Steelers play each other this Sunday in Las Vegas. Could a deal be discussed and eventually reached in the aftermath of that matchup in the wee hours of the night?
It goes without saying, but crazier things have happened in Las Vegas.
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This is not the only potential deal between the Raiders and Steelers that is being discussed among insiders around the league. A George Pickens for Davante Adams swap has been rumored this week as well, as Adams continues to await a trade out of Las Vegas. The Steelers were one of the teams rumored to pursue Adams, especially since after George Pickens played a career-low 34 snaps on Sunday Night Football against the Cowboys, his future with the Steelers has seemingly been called into question.
It's possible that the Raiders don't make any moves over the next few weeks, instead deciding to remain content with riding out the 2024 season while keeping an eye on making a bigger splash in the 2025 offseason. A new quarterback, No. 1 wide receiver or even head coach remains a very real possibility.
