Madden Monday: Steelers shouldn't bring Russell Wilson back 'at any price'

The 2024-25 Pittsburgh Steelers season is over. Now they have to start figuring out what to do for 2025-26.

Good luck.

Whatever they try to do won’t be dictated until they figure out an action plan at quarterback. They currently do not have a QB under contract for 2025. It’s the most important position on the field. It’s also, generally, the most expensive position against a team’s salary cap unless you draft a rookie starter.

Given that the Steelers will be drafting 21st in April, that’s probably too late for a lock, first-round starting rookie.

Also, the free-agent and trade options this offseason look soft.

So, might the Steelers consider bringing back Russell Wilson even though the 2025 campaign ended with five straight losses? In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLive is arguing against that idea.

“I wouldn’t bring him back,” Madden said. “I thought he faded badly (late in the season). He became a Xerox of a Xerox. He’s going to want too much money. Maybe the price has gone down. But I just wouldn’t bring him back. I think he is probably just done. I don’t think he’ll start in the league ever again unless the Steelers are stupid and bring him back and pay him — which I’m certainly not ruling out.”

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OK, so what about Justin Fields?

“I thought of that,” Madden said. “I don’t think Fields is an NFL quarterback — not a starter. But they might. If you say, ‘Better the devil, you know,’ the last decade, eight years of not winning a playoff game, has very often been founded on the devil they know — players they’re familiar with, a style they’re comfortable with. But, yeah, I wouldn’t bring him back either.”

Madden says let Wilson walk even if he is willing to come back at a bargain salary.

“I wouldn’t bring him back at any price,” Madden continued. “I just don’t think he’s good enough. Now, if you want to say, ‘There’s nobody else they can get that’s good enough,’ that may be true. But I guarantee you they can get somebody that’s not good enough, that’s a lot more affordable, that will allow you cap space to spend on your team in other areas.”

Would that include an extension for linebacker T.J. Watt?

“No. Why? He faded down the stretch, just like Russell Wilson,” Madden argued. “No, I don’t extend him. And if he can’t live with that, then go home, go back to Wisconsin, get on TV with your brother. There’s no way you can extend him for the money he’s going to want.”

Also, during the podcast, Madden and I discuss George Pickens’ future, the Steelers’ unwavering confidence in Mike Tomlin, the rotten run defense in Baltimore and the Penguins’ rough weekend at PPG Paints Arena.