Does Russell Wilson mean the Steelers’ Kenny Pickett era is coming to an end?

The Pittsburgh Steelers are reportedly signing former Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson. During this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLIVE said that the organization should have gone in a different direction.

“They should be getting Kirk Cousins right now,” Madden said. “If you get Kirk Cousins, you are getting 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns. Period. That’s what you are getting.”

This is quite a turn for a franchise that has spent the entire offseason publicly pushing their chips into the center of the table to bet on Kenny Pickett proving his worth as a first-round draft choice and regaining the starting spot he yielded to Mason Rudolph at the end of last year.

Owner Art Rooney II said the franchise “still feel(s) good about Kenny Pickett and his future.” Head coach Mike Tomlin answered in the affirmative during his season-ending press conference when he was asked if he thought next year’s starter was currently on the roster. During the only interview he has granted since being hired, new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith spoke as if Pickett was the obvious choice at quarterback.

Yet everyone in the NFL world knew Wilson was going to be available as a free agent. So what gives?

“If I was Russell Wilson and I came to meet with the Steelers and Mike Tomlin told me, ‘We want you to come in and compete with Kenny. And if you don’t win the job, we want you to mentor him,’ I’d have laughed in his face,” Madden said. “Russell Wilson’s probably a Hall of Famer, married to a popstar (Ciara), nailed on prima donna, had his own staff on-site at Denver, had his own office and didn’t go in the locker room. Now suddenly he’s gonna come in, and compete, and be a team guy? Give me a break.”

It’s entirely possible that Tomlin and company are telling Wilson he’ll be the starter, but with the idea in the back of their minds that Pickett will wind up with the job anyway.

After all, the Steelers don’t exactly have a sterling recent history when it comes to signing veterans who seem to have a different interpretation of what their roles are going to be versus what ends up happening once they arrive.

“Maybe they’re just lying to Wilson. Let’s not forget they told Mitch Trubisky when he came in two seasons ago that he would definitely start until the bye week. And then Tomlin panicked because they were losing to the Jets at halftime,” Madden said of Trubisky’s benching in Week 4 of 2022. “Trubisky had a blow-up with one of (Tomlin’s) favorites, Diontae Johnson. The next thing you know, Pickett is in. The Steelers lie all the time.”

Madden referenced a slew of other players, such as LeGarrette Blount, Melvin Ingram, James Harrison (during his second stint in Pittsburgh) and Mason Rudolph, as players who thought they were getting certain assurance in terms of role, playing time or a pledge for a fair chance to earn starting reps that never materialized. Madden even alluded to the transparently bogus “retirement” of former offensive coordinator Bruce Arians after the 2011 season.