Steelers should start Justin Fields and not Russell Wilson
In terms of NFL preseason “action,” a picture may be worth 100 words. However, there was enough imagery coming out of Pittsburgh on Saturday night to draw a clear conclusion: Justin Fields should be the Steelers’ starting quarterback.
Let us stipulate what we all know about football in August. Teams on either side of the ball are not going into their playbooks. Starters are just getting a few reps at most. Otherwise, as squad cuts occur, NFL-caliber players are frequently intermingled with pending insurance-caliber salesmen.
Acknowledged.
However, if you believe your eyes, Fields, who played the final five drives in a 9-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills, was clearly more energetic than fading veteran Russell Wilson, who was on the field for Pittsburgh’s first five possessions. With Wilson on the field, the Steelers went three and out three times, punted four times, gained 49 yards in total, and failed to score. He passed for 47 yards and was sacked three times. Fields tossed for 92 yards, ran for 42, and led the club to just three scores.
“I thought he got better in some areas,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said of Fields. “I thought he did a nice job utilizing his legs, whether it was impromptu or otherwise, to keep some situations alive.”
But you have to look beyond the numbers here, and while preseason limitations must be considered, it’s important to remember that both Wilson, who started a pair of Super Bowls for the Seattle Seahawks, and Fields, a first-round pick in 2021 who was released by the Chicago Bears after losing 28 of 38 starts (with a very limited supporting cast), are learning a foreign playbook while surrounded by new teammates.
Yet Wilson seemed to revert to his form with the Denver Broncos the past two seasons – tentative, mostly throwing short passes and not displaying the ability to extend plays that so often made him effective for a decade in the Pacific Northwest. He said the calf injury he suffered early in training camp wasn’t an issue Saturday. Meanwhile, Fields showed off the juice in his wheels repeatedly, pulling the ball on keepers and creating much better spacing on an offense that’s supposed to rely more heavily on the run game under new coordinator Arthur Smith.
“He has that dual-threat capability that can really take this offense to another level as he continues to get more comfortable with it,” said ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, believing Fields should get the starting nod.
This isn’t to say he was perfect. Fields missed a wide-open T.J. Luther down the middle of the field for a potential game-winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter. The Steelers failed to convert on fourth down on their final three drives, despite a potentially catchable pass to tight end Connor Heyward with little over three minutes to go.
“We got into the red zone a couple of times,” Fields explained. “But I think next week we’re just going to have to turn those drives into points.”
Still, a week after struggling with the center exchange, Fields showed a significant improvement. But …
“Still not what we’re looking for,” Tomlin remarked about the team’s overall performance.
He then provided something more specific in reference to Wilson, lamenting the kind of protection he and Fields received.
“The first three or so series of the game, it was three-and-out,” replied Tomlin, “and you’re not going to get an opportunity to establish rhythm or play the way that you would like as an individual or a collective.”
However, Tomlin and GM Omar Khan may want to focus on the collective.
During Tomlin’s 17 seasons as coach, this team has never had a losing record or finished last. However, the Steelers are nearly 16 years out from their last Super Bowl victory, have an average of 9.5 victories over the last six seasons, and have not won a playoff game since 2016 season.
Pittsburgh appears to be a squad that will remain on the postseason fringe in 2024, but it’s difficult to find anyone outside of the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex who believes this team is championship-worthy. Wilson, who will be 36 in November, most likely has enough left to keep them at nine or ten wins. But what exactly are you creating with him, especially because he’ll be a free agency after the season?
Fields? He’s gifted if inconsistent. His athleticism is a weapon, yet it can’t be a crutch – and he needs to learn to be more decisive in the passing game. But his skills also seem much better suited to Smith’s offense and what could once again be an elite Pittsburgh defense should provide a decent margin of error. Still only 25, if Fields can make strides harnessing his ability with help from Tomlin and Smith, this still could be a nine- or 10-win club. (Chicago went 7-10 last year and had fewer weapons on both sides of the ball.) If that happens, Khan could comfortably give Fields, who’s also unsigned beyond this year, say, a three-year, $100 million extension similar to what Baker Mayfield earned with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after last season. If things go haywire, and the Steelers spiral to 5-12? Then they’re in much better position to draft their next quarterback in 2025.
Tomlin, who is never one to reveal a choice until he is fully prepared, did not tip his hand following the game.
“We will meet tomorrow. “We’ll go through it thoroughly,” he said. “That’s just a knee-jerk assessment of some things.”
Perhaps resting on it will reveal something to Tomlin. But, after saying in the offseason that Wilson was in the “pole position” to be the Steelers’ QB1 in 2024, it appears that Fields should be the one to end in the winner’s circle.
