It didn’t take long for Russell Wilson to leave his mark on the Pittsburgh Steelers – and, in the process, cause one of his former teams to second-guess their offseason decision.

In his regular-season debut for the Steelers, Wilson turned in a masterful performance against the New York Jets, completing 16-of-29 passes for 264 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions while also rushing for a score. The 35-year-old routinely found success on downfield throws along the sideline – a staple over his 13-year NFL career – time and again connecting with wide receiver George Pickens on chunk plays outside the numbers.

The strong showing caught the attention of former NFL quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan, who commended Wilson for not holding back and playing to his strengths. “We’re all going to find out together,” he said in regards to what the remainder of the season looks like. “But you gotta love the aggressiveness. You gotta love that Russell Wilson brought his stamp to the game. And it was certainly more than good enough.”

It wasn’t always pretty, however. Wilson began the contest by completing a meager 2-of-8 passes as the Steelers fell into a 15-6 hole. But the veteran signal-caller quickly managed to knock off the rust, finishing the second half 8-of-12 en route to propelling Pittsburgh back with 31 unanswered points in a dominant 37-15 win.

“I think early on, you saw some of the limitations as far as bailing out of the pocket, not necessarily being able to operate downfield in the middle of the field passing game from within the pocket,” O’Sullivan said. “He’s just naturally going to find those windows and kind of leak around the pocket. It’s just the way he plays the position.”

Wilson’s promising return is likely a tough pill to swallow for the Broncos, who released the nine-time Pro Bowler back in March following a tumultuous two seasons with him at the helm. As part of his ousting, Denver agreed to take on an $85 million dead money cap hit from his five-year, $242.6 million contract over the next two seasons.

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The Broncos could reportedly look to trade backup quarterbacks Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson

The Broncos could reportedly look to trade backup quarterbacks Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson ( 

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In replace of Wilson, the Broncos selected quarterback Bo Nix with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, as well as acquired former second-overall pick Zach Wilson in a trade with the Jets. Backup Jarrett Stidham, who inked a two-year, $10 million deal with Denver in March of 2023, was additionally brought back.

Yet eight weeks into the NFL season, it appears as though the Broncos are looking to break apart the quarterback room that they built. According to ESPN’s Jeff Legwold, Denver could look to deal one of Stidham or Wilson at the trade deadline.

“Given their ultra tight cap this year and next (thanks to their decision to release Russel Wilson earlier this year), the Broncos need draft capital and would listen to any and all offers,” he wrote.

Nix, meanwhile, has recovered nicely from a poor start to his rookie campaign, commanding the Broncos to a 4-3 record. Through the first seven games, he’s thrown for 1,246 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions.