Wilson 2025 Contract Offer

[Captain Lemming]

Comments in green.

I actually think his market value is not what people are suggesting.
Would YOU pay top dollar for a 37 year old QB who is one year removed from stealing money from the last team to overpay him?

Two teams were happy to get rid of him and he succeeded with one team that won 10 games with BACKUPS at QB.

Additionally it happens to be a perfect fit for Smiths offense. Not the first time THAT happened (Ryan Tannehill).

All the while, teams are seeing a guy his age (Cousins) fleecing a team while falling off a cliff.

Nah, Russ would get interest, but his days of being a top dollar guy are done.

If we pay him the range you suggest, we are willing to pay his true value as we have tons of cap. But he ain't making more somewhere else.

[feltdizz]

I actually think his market value is not what people are suggesting.
Would YOU pay top dollar for a 37 year old QB who is one year removed from stealing money from the last team to overpay him?

Two teams were happy to get rid of him and he succeeded with one team that won 10 games with BACKUPS at QB.

Additionally it happens to be a perfect fit for Smiths offense. Not the first time THAT happened (Ryan Tannehill).

All the while, teams are seeing a guy his age (Cousins) fleecing a team while falling off a cliff.

Nah, Russ would get interest, but his days of being a top dollar guy are done.

If we pay him the range you suggest, we are willing to pay his true value as we have tons of cap. But he ain't making more somewhere else.

Russ has been slandered and painted as this villain who stole money he didn’t deserve when he was tied for 3rd in TD% last year. Had 26 TD’s in 15 games… and only 8 INT’s.

Did Russ really steal money?

I know they were thinking SB but that is a bit ridiculous given recent history.

but Kirk? That dude has stolen a ton of money and has 1 playoff win in his whole damn career.

and truth be told, teams like Atlanta and the Jets show that there is always a team who may overpay for a vet like Russ.

[Starlifter]

Kirk Cousins convincing teams to give him hundreds of millions is HOF worthy for that reason alone.

Now I hear the browns may be a suiter next year. Dear god, I hope so........

[Captain Lemming]

Russ has been slandered and painted as this villain who stole money he didn’t deserve when he was tied for 3rd in TD% last year. Had 26 TD’s in 15 games… and only 8 INT’s.

Did Russ really steal money?

I know they were thinking SB but that is a bit ridiculous given recent history.

but Kirk? That dude has stolen a ton of money and has 1 playoff win in his whole damn career.

and truth be told, teams like Atlanta and the Jets show that there is always a team who may overpay for a vet like Russ.

You educating ME on Russ’ Bronco stats?

Dizz, you funny.

Dude I was beating those numbers over your head you when YOU were acting like replacing Kenny with Wilson was some risky move that might fail with Tomlin deserving of being fired as a result.

You got one foot in the Tomlin hater bus about to jump on because you acted like he did your dude dirty when all he did was make the MOST OBVIOUS UPGRADE that had NO CHANCE of being a mistake based on the very numbers you just cited.

I had no doubt Russ was a huge upgrade based on those numbers. I told you Russ had more TDs in a season he did not even get to finish than Kenny had in HIS CAREER.

My point then is my point now. THE STEELERS uniquely can compete for championships with the caliber QB that Russ is (good but not tier 1). Most teams cannot.

I do not for one minute think he deserved to be benched. My point about “stealing money” is he was paid FRANCHISE QB money and did not play to his pay.

My point is that nobody is making that mistake again having seen it.

[feltdizz]

You educating ME on Russ’ Bronco stats?

Dizz, you funny.

Dude I was beating those numbers over your head you when YOU were acting like replacing Kenny with Wilson was some risky move that might fail with Tomlin deserving of being fired as a result.

You got one foot in the Tomlin hater bus about to jump on because you acted like he did your dude dirty when all he did was make the MOST OBVIOUS UPGRADE that had NO CHANCE of being a mistake based on the very numbers you just cited.

I had no doubt Russ was a huge upgrade based on those numbers. I told you Russ had more TDs in a season he did not even get to finish than Kenny had in HIS CAREER.

My point then is my point now. THE STEELERS uniquely can compete for championships with the caliber QB that Russ is (good but not tier 1). Most teams cannot.

I do not for one minute think he deserved to be benched. My point about “stealing money” is he was paid FRANCHISE QB money and did not play to his pay.

My point is that nobody is making that mistake again having seen it.

You talk like I haven’t admitted Tomlin and Khan made the right choice. I just needed to see it to be convinced it was. We still need to win a playoff game though.

but a team just made the mistake with Cousins last year and Rodgers the year before.

Teams will always make this mistake if there is nothing else out there because it energizes fan bases and sells hope.

[NorthCoast]

You educating ME on Russ’ Bronco stats?

Dizz, you funny.

Dude I was beating those numbers over your head you when YOU were acting like replacing Kenny with Wilson was some risky move that might fail with Tomlin deserving of being fired as a result.

You got one foot in the Tomlin hater bus about to jump on because you acted like he did your dude dirty when all he did was make the MOST OBVIOUS UPGRADE that had NO CHANCE of being a mistake based on the very numbers you just cited.

I had no doubt Russ was a huge upgrade based on those numbers. I told you Russ had more TDs in a season he did not even get to finish than Kenny had in HIS CAREER.

My point then is my point now. THE STEELERS uniquely can compete for championships with the caliber QB that Russ is (good but not tier 1). Most teams cannot.

I do not for one minute think he deserved to be benched. My point about “stealing money” is he was paid FRANCHISE QB money and did not play to his pay.

My point is that nobody is making that mistake again having seen it.

The path to a SB is far easier in the NFC than the AFC, so if a team like the Giants throw stupid money at him, it may be all it takes to make the jump.

[Captain Lemming]

The path to a SB is far easier in the NFC than the AFC, so if a team like the Giants throw stupid money at him, it may be all it takes to make the jump.

Not really. His last season in the NFC was a losing season WITH A BETTER TEAM with a better coach than the Giants have. How would adding a QB who is four years removed from a his last winning season going to suddenly make the Giants one?

It worked because Russ came to a team that won 10 games WITH BACKUP CALIBER QBs. We could probably have a winning season with Daniel Jones.

If YOU were the Giants, are you throwing 50 per to Russ? Honestly?

[WindyCitySteel]

The path to a SB is far easier in the NFC than the AFC, so if a team like the Giants throw stupid money at him, it may be all it takes to make the jump.

Is it? Detroit, GB, Minn, Philly are all very good, Detroit is the best team in the league ATM, and the Rams are not to be trifled with if they get in.

The South is the weak sister division in each conference.

[Oviedo]

Market value is a misnomer. I don't believe market value for a Burrow, Mahommes, Jackson, etc getting their first contract, or second, is the same as for a QB in their mid to late thirties. The latter may want that massive contract, but Kirk Cousins and Aaron Rogers are showing real time that giving a big contract is bad business.

[Captain Lemming]

Ironically the ONLY TEAMS who I think could compete at a high level with Russ are paying young QBs already and can’t afford him if they wanted.
1. KC- but it would be a downgrade
2. The team we play Sunday, Philly. THAT ONE would be interesting. With THEIR receivers run game and defense, THEY would be BETTER. I make them SB favorites with Russ.

[Northern_Blitz]

I actually think his market value is not what people are suggesting.
Would YOU pay top dollar for a 37 year old QB who is one year removed from stealing money from the last team to overpay him?

Two teams were happy to get rid of him and he succeeded with one team that won 10 games with BACKUPS at QB.

Additionally it happens to be a perfect fit for Smiths offense. Not the first time THAT happened (Ryan Tannehill).

All the while, teams are seeing a guy his age (Cousins) fleecing a team while falling off a cliff.

Nah, Russ would get interest, but his days of being a top dollar guy are done.

If we pay him the range you suggest, we are willing to pay his true value as we have tons of cap. But he ain't making more somewhere else.

I guess my question would be "what do you think his market value is" (dollar value)? And "how does that fit into the context of QBs in the rest of the league"?

Would you have paid Cousins the deal he got? Or make the trade that got Watson to the Browns? I wouldn't have wanted to do either of these things. But teams need QBs. And there aren't 32 guys in the league who can play the position competently.

Competent QBs are rarely available by UFA or trade. Prices get very stupid.

Not sure if you saw it the first two times I posted, but a $45MM / year probably puts him at or outside the top 15 next season.

I don't know if he'd necessarily get all the way up to $45MM, but over $40.

There are only two guys between $40MM (currently 15th highest AAV) and $45MM. Those deals were signed in 2022 (Stafford) and 2021 (Allen).

In 2021, the NFL salary cap was $182.5MM. Today it's $255.4MM!

That's an increase of ~ 40%.

I think it's super-unlikely for Russ to not at least equal (and likely pass by a fair amount) the "team discount" deal Stafford signed in 2022.

The Cousins deal is also a good comp. Signed in 2024 with $45MM AAV. This was coming off a season where he played 8 games.

And the truth is that if he signs that a deal between 40-45 (even if it's >$45MM), we'll get the articles that you're talking about praising him for giving the team a discount. Just like there were articles about Stafford signing a team friendly contract of $40MM in 2022.

Edited to add: I don't like Cousins and wouldn't have wanted to sign that contract. But he's doing what he's always done. Put up good numbers but not really win much. He's played 4 playoff games in 12 years and won one (looks like they'll miss this year too...but you never know they're in a bad division in the worse conference). It's not his age that's driving the results he's getting this year. This is who he's always been.

[hawaiiansteel]

I don't like Cousins and wouldn't have wanted to sign that contract. But he's doing what he's always done. Put up good numbers but not really win much.

It's not his age that's driving the results he's getting this year. This is who he's always been.

Kirk Cousins has thrown 17 TDs and 15 interceptions so far this season and his passer rating is the lowest it has been in 10 years.

Those aren't good numbers and this isn't who he has always been.

[Northern_Blitz]

Kirk Cousins has thrown 17 TDs and 15 interceptions so far this season and his passer rating is the lowest it has been in 10 years.

Those aren't good numbers and this isn't who he has always been.

He has thrown more INTs than his "normal" this year.

But he's still going to get somewhere around 4000 yards. Probably will get somewhere in the low-20s for TDs (which is also below his career norms).

But Lemming said he is the the middle of "falling off a cliff". I think that's a good description of what Watson did. Cousins is probably declining...but not super-dramatically IMO.

He's still essentially giving the Falcons the same as he always has.

Puts up a lot of stats.

Team finishes right around 0.500.

Probably misses the playoffs (~2/3 of the time). Or just makes the playoffs and loses in the WC.

If anyone was signing him because they thought he would turn their team into a winner...then I don't think they followed the rest of his career. He's not a guy that leads a team to the promised land. Rarely even to the playoffs. 3 playoff berths as a starter. 1 playoff win.

He's in his 13th year in the league.

Good QBs don't miss the playoffs that consistently.

Particularly in the NFC IMO.

FWIW...I think the more unpopular version of this line of thinking is that I don't think Herbert is as good as advertised either. Less of a track record of not making the playoffs. But 1/4 playoff berths isn't great. Looks like they'll make it this year though. And the AFC has clearly been the harder road since he's been in the league IMO. Still...a QB not having team success while on their rookie deal is a red flag IMO.

[Captain Lemming]

He has thrown more INTs than his "normal" this year.

But he's still going to get somewhere around 4000 yards. Probably will get somewhere in the low-20s for TDs (which is also below his career norms).

But Lemming said he is the the middle of "falling off a cliff". I think that's a good description of what Watson did. Cousins is probably declining...but not super-dramatically IMO.

He's still essentially giving the Falcons the same as he always has.

Puts up a lot of stats.

Team finishes right around 0.500.

Probably misses the playoffs (~2/3 of the time). Or just makes the playoffs and loses in the WC.

If anyone was signing him because they thought he would turn their team into a winner...then I don't think they followed the rest of his career. He's not a guy that leads a team to the promised land. Rarely even to the playoffs. 3 playoff berths as a starter. 1 playoff win.

He's in his 13th year in the league.

Good QBs don't miss the playoffs that consistently.

Particularly in the NFC IMO.

FWIW...I think the more unpopular version of this line of thinking is that I don't think Herbert is as good as advertised either. Less of a track record of not making the playoffs. But 1/4 playoff berths isn't great. Looks like they'll make it this year though. And the AFC has clearly been the harder road since he's been in the league IMO. Still...a QB not having team success while on their rookie deal is a red flag IMO.

You are making my point. Cousins has routinely played with trash defenses. Ditto Herbert You know who else won Jack squat without superior defenses? Ben. Difference is HE HAD THAT whenever he had playoff success.

Ben had ZERO playoff wins without a top 10 defense intil his his only one after the 2015 season, THAT DEFENSE was 11th so even it was good.

Using that game I will demonstrate my point.

Bens Steelers scored 18 and won over Big Reds Bengals.
That EXACT SAME DAY Cousins scored EXACTLY THE SAME 18 and got DESTROYED by Aaron Rodger 30 plus.

To my point look at Russ. He was a loser on another team when Kenny, Mitch, and Mason were winning more games. Look at Russ now.

We won 10 with backups. You really think we can’t contend for a SB with Herbert or pre-injury Cousins? LOL.

[feltdizz]

Not really. His last season in the NFC was a losing season WITH A BETTER TEAM with a better coach than the Giants have. How would adding a QB who is four years removed from a his last winning season going to suddenly make the Giants one?

It worked because Russ came to a team that won 10 games WITH BACKUP CALIBER QBs. We could probably have a winning season with Daniel Jones.

If YOU were the Giants, are you throwing 50 per to Russ? Honestly?

YES!!! The Giants screwed up paying Jones and letting Barkley go. Why wouldn’t they throw money at Russ to try and win back the fans?

Teams like the Jets and Giants need a buzz.

Rodgers was trash in GB his last year and a coach killer and the Jets still went after him, let him miss camp and got another HC fired.

These are the teams who make these types of moves Cap.

Its not about if WE would make that move. If I was the Giants GM I would’ve never paid Jones, I would’ve gave Russ the starting gig and I would’ve gave Barkley like $20 Mill to show how paying an elite RB’s big money doesn’t kill your cap.. lol!!!