Russell Wilson has won the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback battle for now. That doesn’t mean the competition is over. If Wilson struggles, Justin Fields could be inserted into the starting lineup. It’s good that the Steelers have multiple options, but hopefully Wilson is good enough to keep the starting job because that means the Steelers are winning games. However, former NFL offensive lineman Mark Schlereth seems to believe Wilson won’t last long as the starting quarterback.
Speaking on his podcast, Stinkin’ Truth, Schlereth was asked many games Wilson will be the Steelers’ starter, barring injury.
“I’m gonna say five,” Schlereth said. “I just think that the way the Pittsburgh Steelers are gonna have to be built, what they’re gonna have to build themselves on is the running game and using the quarterback element in the run game.”
Schlereth’s analysis is fair because the Steelers are obviously impressed with Fields’ rushing ability. Even though Wilson is the starter, they’ll likely have packages for Fields on offense. OC Arthur Smith has had success with a mobile quarterback before so maybe Fields does give them the best chance at success.
However, that’s where Schlereth’s analysis stops being unbiased. In that same episode, he gave his opinion on what why Wilson won’t work in Pittsburgh.
“Do I think they may be able to compete for a playoff spot? Yeah, but the issue is, and this is what got Russ out of Seattle and Denver, Russ isn’t willing to admit he’s not good at stuff,” he said. “He’s delusional. If you’re not willing to admit it, then you can’t fix it.”
Schlereth has been clear that he does not like Wilson. Nor does he think he’s a very good quarterback anymore. He believes Wilson refuses to admit that he can’t do some of the things he used to, but even if that is true, he was still a decent player last year. Wilson has also seemed fairly humble and ready to work with the Steelers. Teammates have done nothing but praise him.
Saying Wilson will only last five games seems bold too. The Steelers’ fifth game is against the Dallas Cowboys, and their schedule isn’t awful up to that point. For Wilson to be replaced then, the Steelers would probably need to have a terrible record through five games. Mike Tomlin has shown patience in the past so it isn’t likely he’ll make any knee-jerk reactions.
So far, Wilson hasn’t been the self-absorbed, stubborn quarterback Schlereth is painting him as. He got injured early in training camp, and rather than have a bad attitude, he continued to help mentor Fields. He looked alright in the final preseason game too although it was a small sample size.
Maybe Wilson will get replaced by after Week 5, but that seems unlikely. Tomlin has done much more with far less at quarterback so as long as Wilson doesn’t become a turnover machine, the Steelers should be alright. With the regular season almost here, it won’t take long to see if Schlereth is correct or not.
