Schefter reports Russell Wilson’s two first free-agent visits

Russell Wilson is looking for a new home.

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After two years with the Denver Broncos, the former Seattle Seahawks star is being released, and he’s starting to visit prospective new teams.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Wilson is set to visit the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday. The two sides have been linked for months as Pittsburgh may want a new starting quarterback as 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett has struggled in his first two seasons and was outplayed by career backup Mason Rudolph late in the season.

But Wilson met with another team on Thursday, and it’s a team that has a high-paid quarterback on the roster.

Per Schefter, before going to visit the Steelers, Wilson visited the New York Giants in what Schefter was told by sources was “an exploratory meeting.”

Wilson was seen photographed at Newark Airport after meeting with the Giants.

A photo taken of Russell Wilson at Newark after he met with the Giants and before he flew to meet the Steelers. https://t.co/zFagzOuYCH pic.twitter.com/Hrk0L7kFbF

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 8, 2024

The Giants drafted Daniel Jones in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft and inked him to a four-year deal worth up to $160 million last offseason. He missed all but six games in 2023 due to an ACL tear, and while Jones isn’t in danger of getting released or traded this offseason, his dead cap hit decreases mightily next offseason. Wilson signing with the Giants could mean there’s a quarterback competition brewing in New York, that Jones could miss more time with the ACL injury or that Wilson may be looking at opportunities to be a backup quarterback.

Wilson, Schefter said, is also expected to meet with the Las Vegas Raiders, who have a new full-time head coach in Antonio Pierce and don’t have a clear starting quarterback on the roster after using rookie Aidan O’Connell for 10 starts in 2023.

According to Seattle Sports’ sister station in Denver, Wilson is being advised to sign with the Raiders if he’s offered a contract. You can read more about that in the story below.

Sources: Russell Wilson is being advised to sign with Raiders

Wilson was part of one of the most lopsided trades in NFL history roughly two years ago when Seattle sent him and a fourth-round pick to Denver for two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick and three players. With two years left on his deal, Wilson and the Broncos agreed to a lucrative five-year extension. But since Wilson is being released by the Broncos, he won’t be playing a single snap on that new contract and the Broncos are eating $85 million of dead cap over the next two years.

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