Steelers Now
The New Orleans Saints are emerging as another potential destination for soon-to-be free agent Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson.
The veteran quarterback has already been connected to the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants, if he does not play in Pittsburgh again in 2025.
Now, it seems the New Orleans Saints are also an option, should the Saints choose to move on from starter Derek Carr. Sports Grid analyst Zack Cook picked the Saints as the likeliest potential landing spot for Wilson, should he leave Pittsburgh.
“Russell Wilson’s future in the NFL is shrouded in uncertainty as he enters a pivotal stage of his career,” Cook wrote. “The key question is whether he will remain in Pittsburgh or if the seasoned quarterback will be on the move to what would be the fourth stop in his illustrious journey through the league. Despite the doubts, Wilson maintains that he still has valuable contributions to make on the field.”
There is still a chance that Wilson will return to the Steelers, and he seems to be holding out hope that will be the case. The Steelers haven’t publicly committed to a course of action, though president Art Rooney II said earlier this offseason that his preference would be to sign Wilson or Justin Fields to a long-term contract extension.
In 11 games as the Steelers’ starter in 2024, Wilson averaged 225.6 yards per game, completed 63.7% of his passes and maintained a 95.6 passer rating. Wilson is set to become an unrestricted free agent on March 10 and will be 37 years old this season.
In 10 games with the Saints, the 33-year-old Carr averaged 214.5 yards per game, completed 67.7% of his passes and had a 101.0 passer rating, so it’s hard to see why the Saints would find Wilson to be a clear upgrade.
Carr is set to earn $40 million in 2025 and $50 million in 2026 in the final two seasons of a four-year deal. He will count for $61 million against the Saints salary cap this offseason. Only $10 million of that is guaranteed. A pre-June 1 release would cause an over $50 million dead cap hit, but save the team a little over a million against this year’s cap. A post-June 1 release would count for $21 million in dead cap hit this year, with $30,000 in savings.
