Pittsburgh Steelers QB Russell Wilson is making his preseason debut for the team tomorrow night against the Buffalo Bills, and NFL analyst Kyle Brandt thinks it’s a “really, really big night” for Wilson. On Good Morning Football, Brandt said Wilson needs to play well and stay healthy.
“Like what if it doesn’t go well or he actually re-injures himself and misses the Week 1 start? Then it’s just Justin Fields and I don’t know where we’re going for Russell Wilson then for the rest of his career. This is the last stop here,” Brandt said. “This is kind of as big as it gets, where we have a potential future Hall of Fame quarterback fighting for a job in the preseason on his third team. And I think he needs to have a big night.”
Wilson has faced competition from Fields throughout training camp and the preseason, and Wilson’s calf injury gave Fields valuable first-team reps early on in camp. But Wilson has ramped up his work over the last few weeks and should get four series with the starters against Buffalo.
Obviously, if something were to happen and he re-injures his calf, that’s the worst-case scenario. Barring a disaster of a performance, I don’t think Wilson not having a “big night” or struggling a little bit would kill his chances of winning the starting job. Fields didn’t look great in the preseason opener, twice fumbling the exchange from C Nate Herbig and taking two sacks, so it’s not as if he really pushed Wilson or put any more pressure on him.
The national media has framed the competition as something bigger than it really is, and if Wilson is healthy, he’s more than likely going to start. But for the narratives around the game, it’s definitely a big one for a preseason game. Wilson is trying to revive his career, and playing his first game with a new team in front of the Acrisure Stadium crowd makes it a big game and a big deal in and of itself.
It’ll be a positive sign if Wilson starts his preseason on a high note with a good performance and leads a scoring drive or two. I’m just not so sure that a poor performance will significantly hurt his chances of opening the year as the starter. Fields is waiting in the wings though, so Wilson can’t consistently struggle, but I don’t buy that his first preseason game with Pittsburgh is going to be make or break the rest of his career.
