It’s always good to get a seal of approval from someone after an offseason move, but it’s even better when that someone is a Hall of Famer.
Former Steelers receiver and four-time Super Bowl champion Lynn Swann recently appeared on 97.1 The Fan to talk about Pittsburgh and its recent changes at the quarterback position. According to Swann, the team has “upgraded the position.” However, he does hold the belief that the team must tread carefully to not divide the team by favoring either Russell Wilson or Justin Fields.
“I think they’ve got talent there,” Swann said. “I think they have to figure out how to blend it, how to fold it in and keep the organization working as a unit, as a team, not allow the quarterbacks to get into any kind of feud, not allow one to become favored over the other for any other reason than just how they play and so that it doesn’t divide the team.”
Swann went on to say that Mike Tomlin is good at managing personalities, so as long as he continues that the team should be okay.
Swann is the most recent in a nearly universal list of players and analysts who believe the Steelers have made major upgrades to the quarterback position.
Kenny Pickett’s struggles on the field and in the locker room hindered the team from taking the next step for the past two years.
With Wilson and Fields, Pittsburgh adds experience, athleticism, and leadership that the team didn’t have last season. According to Steelers running back Jaylen Warren, the leadership has already been on display from both players.
“It’s a night and day difference with their leadership,” Warren said on Cameron Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast when comparing the leadership qualities of Wilson and Fields to last year’s quarterbacks. “They bring a lot. They help out.”
An interesting note from Swann’s interview is that he seemed to believe there would be some type of competition between Wilson and Fields, even saying that Fields provides the team with more “longevity” going forward.
Tomlin has already said that Wilson is in “pole position” for the starting gig. Of course, that could change as the season inches closer, and Fields can flex his athletic chops, but at the moment, it seems unlikely.
A knee-jerk changing of the guard may incite the locker room division that Swann mentioned earlier, so expect Wilson to hold that starting spot unless a drastic change is needed.
Either way, the Steelers’ quarterback position seems to be trending in the right direction as we head toward the 2024 NFL season.
