Former NFL quarterback Cam Newton isn’t buying what the Pittsburgh Steelers are selling. QB Russell Wilson is set to miss his third game due to a calf injury suffered right before Week 1 kicked off. However, Newton thinks the Steelers have a broader strategy of making an easier transition to Justin Fields rather than outright declaring Wilson has been benched.
“Knowing what I know, Justin Fields is the starter moving forward in Pittsburgh,” Newton said on his 4th & 1 podcast. “Why do I know that? If Russell Wilson was really hurt. Like really hurt. He wouldn’t have even dressed. So they’re gonna keep distracting us with, ‘Hey, it’s his calf. It’s his calf. It’s his calf.”
Newton and many others online have questioned or poked fun at Wilson suiting up in full gear if he’s supposedly inactive. But Wilson is the team’s emergency third-string quarterback, allowing him to dress and enter the game if QBs Justin Fields and Kyle Allen were hurt and lost for the game.
While Newton is accurate in saying a serious injury would keep Wilson in street clothes, it’s a relatively minor calf injury. Still, those injuries are tricky, and Wilson has hurt his calf twice over the last few months. With his mobility still limited, the team would take a risk by starting him.
But in a worst-case scenario where the Steelers have no other option at quarterback, Wilson is healthy enough to enter the game, hand off, and probably throw screens and quick passes. He’s looked the way he did at training camp. Not visibly injured, still going through a limited session of practice each day, but not at 100 percent. It’s also worth noting Wilson reported the injury to the team, a proactive and transparent step. Pittsburgh didn’t declare him hurt.
Newton attempted to compare Wilson’s situation to San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey’s.
“Do you ever see Christian McCaffrey ever hurt and still dress?”
This goes back to the emergency quarterback carve-out. And McCaffrey’s calf injury is far more serious, requiring a stint on injured reserve. Wilson avoided that fate. Still, Newton thinks this is an intentional plan on the Steelers’ part.
“I think they’re trying to ease Russell Wilson down slow.”
Newton also theorized that Wilson is dressing to keep the heat on Fields, implying that his job isn’t etched in stone.
While this speculation is largely inaccurate, it’s certainly plausible and arguably probable that if Fields goes out and beats the 2-0 Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, the job will be his even when Wilson is deemed fully healthy. Wilson will reportedly practice this upcoming week, ostensibly on a full-time basis, considering he’s been practicing on a limited basis every day since getting hurt again. If the Steelers are rolling along, it’ll be difficult for Mike Tomlin to make a quarterback change to someone who’s yet to take a snap for the team.
So, in some sense, Newton is correct, even if his path to that conclusion is faulty.
