Pittsburgh Steelers

What the Denver Broncos decide to do with quarterback Russell Wilson this offseason is one of the biggest storylines in the NFL. The Broncos can keep him in the fold for 2024, knowing the quarterback room will be awkward after they benched him for the final two games of the season. Virtually no one around the NFL expects Wilson to return, though, since it would lock in $37 million in 2025 guarantees. They could pay him $37 million of 2024 guarantees to go away, knowing offsets will be minimal with prospective teams leveraging Denver's guaranteed money against him. It will be tough to trade him. The money paid to Wilson handcuffs a team that is probably going to be forced to go cheap at QB, either with veteran Jarrett Stidham, another veteran or a draft pick.

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton said that the team will decide on the future of quarterback Russell Wilson "sooner than later" as an important deadline related to his contract looms. The 35-year-old QB has a trigger in his contract that would guarantee his $37 million salary for 2025 if he's still on the roster on March 17. If the Broncos want to cut Wilson, they would be on the hook for $85 million in dead money as the result of future guarantees accelerating onto the 2024 salary cap. Denver could split the charges over two seasons via a post-June 1 release. The Broncos have the No. 12 pick in the upcoming NFL draft and could be looking for a new signal-caller after the team benched Wilson with two games left in 2023. Payton said the team is evaluating their QB options through a fresh lens and have yet to make any final decisions.

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams (knee), who tore his ACL in Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings last year, said he's "slightly ahead" of schedule in his rehab. He didn't really provide many other details about his rehab, other than said he's "feeling good." Before his injury, Williams was moving around the field more than ever before, lining up 47 times in the slot in the first three games -- more than half as much as he had in 13 games in 2022. He had 19 catches for 249 yards and a touchdown before getting hurt, the second-best numbers of his seven-year career in the first three weeks of a season. The bad news is the 29-year-old is coming off yet another injury and now has an offensive coordinator that has led run-first offenses in the past. The good news is that barring any setbacks this offseason, Williams should be ready for Week 1 this fall.

The addition of new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith bodes well for Pittsburgh Steelers tight ends Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington. From 2021 to 2023 when Smith was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, they ran the most plays with multiple tight ends on the field (1,549), while the Steelers ran only 844 plays with multiple TEs, ranking 22nd in the league. Smith was inconsistent in using Kyle Pitts after his 1,000-yard rookie season, but Smith's scheme could help Freiermuth and Washington get more involved in 2024. The team's QB issues didn't help his cause, but Freiermuth had his worst season in his third year with Pittsburgh in 2023, catching 32 passes for only 308 yards and two touchdowns in 12 regular-season games. However, the 25-year-old finished the year strong and could bounce back in 2024 with better QB play.

With the Pittsburgh Steelers hiring former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith as their new offensive coordinator on Tuesday, it signals that they are committed to being a run-first team, which is good news for the fantasy stock of both running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. Smith underwhelmed in three years in Atlanta, but his body of work in the NFL shows he's well-positioned to utilize a roster that has a potentially dominant RB tandem, especially if paired with an above-average offensive line and serviceable quarterback. Smith's offenses in Atlanta and Tennessee consistently had some of the NFL's best rushing attacks. "I think we have two high-performing running backs in Najee and Jaylen and they, along with an improving offensive line, can be the foundation of success going forward," owner Art Rooney II said.