PITTSBURGH — Russell Wilson announced his retirement from the NFL earlier this week. He chose to take an analyst role with CBS over an offer to back up Geno Smith for the New York Jets.

The move came at the end of several years of disappointments that brought him through Pittsburgh for a star-crossed season in 2024 — one that showed promise for a moment but ultimately laid bare the reality that he had fallen far from his Super Bowl form with the Seattle Seahawks.

He signed with the Steelers in the spring of that year after being cut by the Denver Broncos despite what was at the time the largest dead-money salary cap hit in league history. Wilson accounted for about $53 million against the Broncos’ cap without playing a down for them.

Details of his fractured relationship with Broncos coach Sean Payton have trickled out in the years since, with Wilson at one point calling Payton “classless.” So, needless to say, there was not much love lost there before Wilson joined the Steelers on a cheap deal while collecting a big salary from his former team.

Unlike successor Aaron Rodgers, Wilson made a point of signing and joining the team for offseason workouts quickly and without much drama.

They proverbial honeymoon ended almost as quickly as it began, though. Wilson’s calf muscle was injured as he pushed a sled at the start of training camp in Latrobe. That ultimately cost him the better part of two months, and it became a constant point of conversation among media and fans.

Backup Justin Fields instead started the first six games and won over a vocal portion of the fan base by earning four victories in that span. The wins weren’t always pretty. Infamously, the Steelers won the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons with six field goals and not a single touchdown.

Still, some fans were tantalized by Fields’ mobility and questioned the need to start Wilson after his years of mediocrity with the Broncos.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin nevertheless chose to go to Wilson starting in Week 7 against the New York Jets, a game that started an impressive string of outings. Wilson passed for 264 yards and two touchdowns while out-dueling Rodgers for an impressive 37-15 win at Acrisure Stadium.

From there, he won five of his next six decisions. Notably, he took down the upstart Washington Commanders on the road with a patented “moonball” to newly-acquired receiver Mike Williams late in that crucial Week 10 game.

Then, Wilson cut the division rival Cincinnati Bengals’ defense to ribbons in Week 13 with 414 yards and three touchdowns on 29-of-38 passing. It was a virtuoso performance that pushed the Steelers to third in the AFC at 9-3 behind only the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs, two expected Super Bowl contenders.

Soon, reality began to set in.

Pittsburgh faced a tough late-season slate that included Philadelphia, Baltimore and Kansas City — the two-time reigning Super Bowl champions. Wilson and the Steelers’ offense struggled to find their footing in each of those games, failing to score more than 17 points in any of them.

The Steelers sputtered to a 10-7 finish and made the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, which sent them back to Baltimore for the wild-card round. The ensuing 28-14 playoff loss ended up being Wilson’s last relevant NFL action.

The brief Wilson experience ended for good a couple of months later. The Steelers chose not to re-sign him in free agency and went with Rodgers instead.

Wilson joined the New York Giants and lasted just three games as the starter before coach Brian Daboll benched him in favor of rookie Jaxson Dart.

Now, he’s put a bow on a career that included 10 Pro Bowl nods — the last one with the Steelers in 2024.

His remarkable career included a Super Bowl win for the Seahawks in 2014, a shout-out from Eminem in his hit song “The Monster” featuring Rihanna and a marriage to performing artist Ciara, with whom he has four children.

He leaves the NFL at 16th on the all-time passing list with 49,966 yards — and with questions about whether he belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

We’ll learn in five years whether his late-career failures cost him a gold jacket. But at least he’ll remain in the spotlight with his new television gig.

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