Justin Fields has the Pittsburgh Steelers out to 3-0, but Russell Wilson is still QB1 on the depth chart. Mark Kaboly doesn’t see that changing, or at least enduring. On Tuesday head coach Mike Tomlin said that he hasn’t named a starter because it isn’t necessary. He knows exactly what he’s doing with Wilson healing from injury, the opportunity allowing him to hedge his bets.
And Kaboly is betting on Russell Wilson in the long term, believing that what we are seeing from Justin Fields is not sustainable. “Oh, I don’t think he’s gonna be the starter for the rest of the year, no”, he said Wednesday on 93.7 The Fan with Joe Starkey.
“I think Russell Wilson will get in there. I just don’t know when”, Kaboly continued. “I don’t know if it’s gonna be in two weeks, three weeks, or eight weeks, but I think he’ll eventually make his way in there. And it’s not gonna be because of Fields injury. It’s gonna be some ineffectiveness going on”.
Justin Fields has a history of both injury and ineffectiveness, so neither would necessarily be an earth-shattering development. While he has played well thus far, we are still dealing with a small sample size. The Steelers signed Russell Wilson to be their starter, and up to this point, he simply hasn’t been healthy.
While Wilson is a Super Bowl-winning quarterback and a potential Hall of Famer, he is not in the flush of youth. He is not the same player he once was, but we don’t know exactly what player he is now, either. We simply have not seen him due to injury, but that has had the consequence of allowing for a prolonged exposure to Justin Fields.
Wilson injured his calf on the first day of training camp during the Steelers’ conditioning test. He spent much of camp limited as a result, though he played in the second and third preseason games. He didn’t play much, though, or without restrictions. After he aggravated the injury leading into the season opener, Fields took over once again.
Since then, the Steelers have gone 3-0, and while Fields isn’t playing himself into the Pro Bowl, he is playing credible football and making smart decisions, showing progress. The Steelers have kept Wilson on the inactive list, but he has dressed as the emergency third quarterback.
“I would give [Justin Fields] a solid B right now, maybe a little bit higher, just because he’s able to manage the game and win the game”, Kaboly said in assessing his play. “He’s getting better as the seasons goes on; you can’t discount that. I also think there are a lot of plays out there that need to be made”.
Would Russell Wilson make those needed plays that Justin Fields isn’t making? That is the variable for which we can’t account, and why it remains plausible we see a switch. Many think Tomlin is reluctant to name Fields the starter out of deference to Wilson.
Perhaps that is a part of it, but he is also simply hedging his bets, waiting for the other shoe to drop. If it’s a dirty old slipper, you turn to Wilson. But if it’s a black Air Force 1, you keep it rolling with Fields. We’re only three games into the season; this story is far from over.
