Several things will factor into the Pittsburgh Steelers’ decision on their starting quarterback for the 2024 season. One of which, former NFL offensive lineman Ephraim Salaam believes, is the long-term plan for Justin Fields’ career.
On a recent episode of his FOX Sports radio show The Odd Couple, Salaam laid out a variety of reasons for Russell Wilson to be the team’s starter in 2024 over Fields. Perhaps most interestingly, he insinuates that if Fields becomes the starter and struggles, any plans of developing him will be “over.”
“Can you imagine if they went with him and lost the first two or three games?” co-host Rob Parker asked.
“It’s over, it’s over,” Salaam responded. “There’s nowhere to go.”
They go on to say that Wilson more or less provides the team with more of a potential soft landing. Being a longtime NFL starter who is older in age, it wouldn’t hurt the Steelers’ long-term plans if he were to struggle. It would simply add to many people’s assumption, following his time in Denver, that Wilson is past his prime. For Fields, it could be devastating for his career, which has already gotten off to a rocky start. Any hopes of him becoming a future starter would disappear immediately if he can’t settle in as the starter early.
Instead, Salaam believes the team needs to make sure the perfect situation is in place for Fields before it rolls him out.
“He’s not ready yet,” Salaam said. “What you want to do is you want to hit the ground running. You don’t want to hit the ground with a we’ll-see-what-happens type of attitude.”
As many have said already, Fields was thrust into a starting role in Chicago with a less-than-stellar supporting cast. Along with being unready, those experiences could be a source of his struggles now, Fields creating bad habits that he needs to break. Having a Wilson-sized buffer in between to learn from and separate himself from a starter’s responsibilities could be perfect for Fields. Just look at how well it worked for Geno Smith.
One point Salaam misses on is the fact that Fields is on a one-year contract. He’s essentially a rental at this point, so the Steelers gain nothing by sitting him and waiting for a year if he is outperforming Wilson in camp.
Every quarterback would love the chance to “hit the ground running” with a strong offense and great supporting cast, but due to the Steelers and Fields’ situation, he won’t be given that luxury. Instead, it will be feast or famine, letting the best man ultimately win, something I’m sure Fields prefers.
