The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the season with two quarterbacks who were starters for other organizations in 2023. Russell Wilson was ultimately named the starter, but a calf injury cost him the first three (and counting) games of the season. Justin Fields has led the team to a 3-0 record.
Many thought that there would come a time when Fields was inserted into the starting lineup, but not until much later in the season. With it coming earlier than expected, and with much better results than anyone could have anticipated, Wilson is left in an interesting predicament.
Radio host Zach Gelb of Infinity Sports Net believes Wilson should ask to be traded to the Las Vegas Raiders.
“For Russell Wilson, I would at least go into Omar Khan’s office, at least have the conversation with Mike Tomlin and say, ‘Guys, I just want a chance to play.’ And I understand with what Justin has done so far, the Steelers winning, him being younger, him having the higher ceiling in the year of 2024, I’m not in the plans of this organization, regardless of what you say publicly, to probably start a bunch of games this year, if any at all after this 3-0 start. So I’m asking you as a favor,” Gelb said.
“The first team, if I’m Russell Wilson, that I would say go trade me to, it would actually be in the AFC, and it would be the Las Vegas Raiders.”
Others have floated the idea of a Wilson trade. It makes at least some sense. Whichever team trades for him gets a one-year rental for almost zero money. If the Steelers aren’t planning on using him, then it’s better to get some trade value in return than just let him sit on the bench and walk in free agency. On the other hand, the Steelers have learned a few times over recent years how important it is to have an effective backup quarterback.
They used three different quarterbacks in 2023, and were caught in a QB conundrum in 2019 when Ben Roethlisberger got injured, flipping between Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges. If the Steelers are going to be competitive this season, which it looks like they will be, it might be worth holding onto a player like Wilson in case of an injury. The Steelers have some ingredients to win now, but relying on current QB3 Kyle Allen wouldn’t get the job done in the playoffs.
Most of the other people speculating on a Wilson trade have been focused on the idea of trading him to the Miami Dolphins. Tua Tagovailoa’s status is still up in the air after landing on IR with another concussion.
It doesn’t really matter which team Wilson goes to, so long as he has a good chance to start. Wilson is playing to revive his career. He has stated he wants to play several more seasons in the NFL. That won’t be possible as a starter if he ends up getting nothing from the 2024 season. Nobody is going to give him a chance at 36 years old with his two most recent years being rough seasons with the Denver Broncos.
Just this morning on Cameron Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast, Fields described how Wilson has been a great teammate through the whole process. It really doesn’t seem like there have been any issues or locker room fractures that some feared would take place if Wilson was on the bench. But it doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility that Wilson could request a trade if it becomes clear that Fields is the QB1.
As of now, Wilson is still listed as QB1 on the depth chart. We will see if that changes in the coming weeks, especially if the Steelers make it to 4-0 for just the second time since 1979. If and when Fields does get named the official starter, things could get interesting with what Wilson ultimately wants to do.
