Retired RB Believes Steelers' Russell Wilson Is A "Cheeseball" But Perfect For Mike Tomlin

The Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback room entering 2024 training camp has been surprising to say the least, now consisting of Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen. That is now the reality as General Manager Omar Khan clearly wanted to revamp the unit altogether. The offense will be led by new play-caller Arthur Smith and Wilson is expected to begin the campaign as the starter with the younger Fields breathing down his neck. Time will tell which signal-caller is better for the team when it comes to making a deep playoff run.

Many are questioning whether the 35-year old in Wilson still has what it takes to get it done at the professional level. His career fell off a cliff after he was traded to the Denver Broncos in 2022. The marriage with Sean Payton didn't work in 2023, which led to Denver eating a massive cap hit after releasing the veteran. The Steelers were able to bring him in on a veteran minimum contract.

The addition of Wilson has been a talking point throughout the NFL media landscape. Former professional running back Damien Harris joined Robert Mays on The Athletic Football Show to rank each quarterback's supporting cast across the AFC. Harris had Pittsburgh at ninth, but despite some bad publicity that Wilson gets, the retired ball-carrier gave Wilson a vote of confidence.

"As much as Russell seems like a, [I'm going to] be honest and say it, a cheeseball sometimes, he does seem like a guy that shows up, is ready to work, does things the right way, practices hard, tries to perform his best... And that's from guys that I've played with that have also played with Russ."

Harris also really wanted to focus on the partnership between Wilson and Head Coach Mike Tomlin. He loves the duo together because of how each goes about his business.

"From what I know of Russ, he's a guy that shows up ready to work, does his job, goes home and, to me, that's what Mike Tomlin is: show up, do your job, roll the ball out there, let's play football, let's go try to win games and that's what it's gonna be."

There hasn't been too much talk of how Tomlin will go about handling Wilson and his rumored preferential treatment, but it doesn't seem like something that would be tolerated in the Steelers' building. It's good to hear from a former player about how he knows players that competed with Wilson and those individuals have positive things to say about Pittsburgh's new quarterback.

It surely is a fascinating situation in the Steel City when it comes to the quarterback position. Wilson thrived in a Seattle Seahawks offense for the majority of his career when the focuses were on running the football and playing good defense. That's exactly what a Smith-led group should look like. While he may not be in his prime anymore, it's not fair to count him out just yet because of two down seasons in Denver.

The Steelers need to find one more wide receiver to round out the offense, but it's comforting to have a veteran leading the way that has won a Super Bowl, while also having his backup being a young player with loads of potential. Tomlin doesn't have many excuses if his team plays poorly right out of the gate once the 2024 campaign kicks off.

Steelers Noticed Need For Big Changes Entering 2024 Offseason

Khan went out and addressed the quarterback, linebacker and offensive line positions in his second full offseason as the head of the front office. Not winning playoff games is no longer being accepted and some kind of message needed to be sent to the fan base that change was imminent. There are plenty of new faces, but with an extremely tough schedule, everyone will have to do their part to put together a 10+ win season.

Do you think Wilson is a cheeseball? Let us know in the comments below!

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