Back in March, just a few days after the Steelers signed the quarterback Russell Wilson After he agreed to a one-year deal through the 2024 season, there were already reports suggesting that the player and team planned to negotiate a multi-year deal in the 2025 offseason. After Wilson took over the QB1 role Justin Fields In Week 7, the on-field results led to more reports of this nature, with multiple media outlets reiterating that Pittsburgh intended to re-sign Wilson and keep him as a starter.

Wilson, 36, was also interested in extending the relationship, and Baker MayfieldThe three-year, $100 million contract with the Buccaneers was seen as a logical settlement for Wilson’s camp to pursue in negotiations. However, the Steelers’ season ended in decline as the club lost the final four games of the regular season, handing control of the AFC North to the Ravens, and then they lost their wild card round match against Baltimore last night at to achieve their victory year to end.

After posting quarterback ratings of at least 101.1 in five of his first seven games under center for the Steelers – a span in which the team finished 6-1 – Wilson failed to post a rating in the next four games to achieve over 94.5. And while his superficial stats look strong in the playoff loss – he connected on 20 of 29 pass attempts for 270 yards and two touchdowns – Pittsburgh mustered less than 60 yards of offense in the first half and trailed 21-0 at halftime.

To be fair, the Steelers’ schedule was challenging after a five-game losing streak to end the season – Philadelphia, Baltimore, Kansas City, Cincinnati and Baltimore. Still, it’s fair to wonder if the team’s opinion about Wilson’s future in Pittsburgh has changed in the last month.

Wilson, for his part, remains true to his desire to negotiate a new contract with the Steelers. In his press statement after the wildcard round, the veteran signalman confirmed that he intends to continue his playing career – “I still have so much more ball left in me,” he said — making it clear he hopes to stay there (X-Links via ESPN’s Brooke Pryror).

“For me personally, it was one of the best years of being a Pittsburgh Steeler,” he said. “And of course I hope I’m here and everything else.”

Wilson added: “It’s a very special place. And I know God put me here for a reason.” (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk).

As Florio observes, head coach Mike Tomlin declined to address the future of his team’s quarterback position after the game, merely pointing to Wilson’s performance “wasn’t good enough” while praising the quarterback’s efforts to rally the offense after a dismal first half.

Fields, who led the team to 4-2 before being demoted in favor of Wilson, is also an impending free agent, but he is nearly 11 years younger than his senior counterpart and has plenty of fans in the building. In fact, Tomlin previously suggested that the decision to put Wilson in the starting lineup instead of Fields was entirely his own decision and that he went against the grain with that decision.

For a while it seemed like the right move. But now the organization must make a series of difficult decisions regarding the sport’s most important position.