One of the biggest questions over the summer for the Pittsburgh Steelers was whether Russell Wilson or Justin Fields would be their starting quarterback. Now, that question still isn’t really answered. Wilson was originally named the starter, but a calf injury has forced Fields into the role. Once Wilson is healthy, the Steelers will have a tough decision to make.
“It’s kind of like the situation that happened last year with the team, trying to figure out which quarterback was the right one to put in there,” former Steelers CB Patrick Peterson said Wednesday on his All Things Covered podcast. “Mason [Rudolph] went off and won a couple games, Kenny [Pickett] got healthy. You gotta leave the hot hand in there. He’s playing winnable football right now, not turning the ball over.”
Peterson was with the Steelers last year when they had to choose between Rudolph and Pickett. Pickett was the starter to begin the year, but an injury eventually forced the Steelers to turn to Rudolph, who had the offense playing better than when Pickett and Mitch Trubisky were starting. It created some controversy, but the Steelers left Pickett on the bench.
It sounds like Peterson agreed with that decision then and that he thinks the Steelers shouldn’t do anything different this time. Fields is playing safe football, and he’s winning games. Just like with Rudolph, it would be tough to tell him to go back to the bench when he’s played so well.
This situation isn’t exactly the same though. Last year, it was obvious that Rudolph was playing better than Pickett. This year, we haven’t seen Wilson play in an actual regular-season game, so it’s tough to say anything for certain.
It looks like Fields will be starting this week too, and if he manages to look good against a strong Los Angeles Chargers defense, he might get the same treatment as Rudolph. It’s unfortunate for Wilson because he hasn’t done anything wrong, but the NFL is a business and wins equal results. As long as Fields is winning, he has a good chance to remain the starter.
