The Pittsburgh Steelers had no initial plans to trade for QB Justin Fields, before or immediately after agreeing to terms with Russell Wilson; however, now that he’s here, Ryan Clark believes that they need to take a good look at him. And he also believes that is what the Steelers will do, sooner or later.
“I just think that eventually Justin Fields is going to get his opportunity to play, get his opportunity to start”, he told Bryan McFadden and Patrick Peterson on the All Things Covered podcast. “How long can Russell Wilson be the answer? They’re gonna have to figure out who their quarterback of the future is”, and Justin Fields being that answer solves a lot of problems. But you won’t know that he’s the answer if you shackle yourself to a “good enough” Russell Wilson.
“I just feel like if you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers, it has to be what you want to happen. You have to want the younger, more talented person to eventually become the starter”, Clark added, regarding Justin Fields. “The hard part is that maybe Russell never plays bad enough to not be the starter”.
We’ve seen this happen before—indeed, it’s something every team goes through at one position or another. How well must you play in order to retain your job over a player with more potential? There are a lot of dynamics at play in such decisions, including the message you send to the locker room. How do the players receive benching a player who is doing a decent enough job because you hope for better? But Clark believes, at some point this year, if this scenario that plays out, the Steelers must rip off the Band-Aid.
“There’s gonna have to come a time in the season”, he said, “where Russell Wilson is playing solid football, where the team is playing good football, and you say, ‘I want great quarterback play. I want dynamic quarterback play, and I want a team that’s playing better than ‘good’ football’”.
The Steelers have dealt with “good” quarterback play or worse for a number of years now. Even in his final years, former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger lacked that greatness that won Super Bowls. Ever since his elbow injury, at least, he often only did enough to make the difference. And if that’s Wilson’s ceiling in Pittsburgh, then perhaps Fields can raise the roof—theoretically.
Clark made the point, as many have, that the Chicago Bears never put Justin Fields in a position to succeed. They cycled him through various offenses with frequent change among the players around him. He finally built a rapport last year with WR DJ Moore, and Clark wants to see what he can do with George Pickens.
Not just Pickens, but Pat Freiermuth at tight end and Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris in the backfield. Clark acknowledged that the Steelers need to add another wide receiver, but they have a better template than Chicago.
The Steelers invested in both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields because of their price tags, make no mistake. They signed Wilson to the veteran minimum because the Denver Broncos are paying the rest of his contract. The trade for Fields only materialized after Kenny Pickett requested a trade. And even then, they whittled the Bears down to a conditional future sixth-round pick.
But why not find out what your options are in 2024 when you have the chance? Neither Wilson nor Fields are under contract beyond this year, unless the Steelers pick up Fields’ fifth-year option (and they won’t). Unless Wilson is playing demonstrably winning football, or Fields struggles, why not try to get your answer while you can?
