At the moment, opinions are torn on Russell Wilson, even though he hasn’t played yet this season. The Pittsburgh Steelers were winning with Justin Fields at quarterback, but their offense has still been stagnant. It sounds like they’re hoping Wilson can give them a spark and help them contend for a championship. While that may seem foolish, analyst Bucky Brooks believes it isn’t so far-fetched.
“The Pittsburgh Steelers are just missing the dynamic and consistent play at quarterback for them to go to the next level,” Brooks said Friday on his Move the Sticks podcast. “The combination of Justin Fields and Russell Wilson, I think can do that. I’m gonna go with Russell Wilson putting the Pittsburgh Steelers in contention and being able to take them over the top because he turns back the clock in the postseason.”
That’s a bold prediction from Brooks. Wilson did win a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks, but that was over 10 years ago. He isn’t the same player. Over the past few years, his age has been showing. Wilson doesn’t have the same athleticism that once made him so dangerous.
However, as Brooks states, the Steelers still have Fields to complement Wilson. Mike Tomlin made it sound like Fields will still get on the field in some packages. Therefore, he could provide the offense with a spark in key situations. He is dynamic, so Wilson just needs to be consistent. Even though he’s lost a step, he should still be able to do that.
The issue is that Wilson has yet to play a real snap with the Steelers. He’s been dealing with a calf injury, which does not engender confidence in him as the starter. No one knows what the Steelers’ offense is going to look like with Wilson under center.
Quarterback isn’t the only problem for the Steelers either. One of the biggest criticisms of the Steelers making a change at quarterback is that it likely won’t fix everything. They’ve struggled to run the ball consistently. In some games, their receivers have disappeared. Their offensive line is also dealing with a mountain of injuries.
Perhaps Wilson’s veteran experience can balance out all of those troubles out. It remains to be seen how much he has left in the tank. Anything can happen in the playoffs. If the Steelers get into the postseason, maybe Wilson can leave it all out on the field and look like his old self. The Steelers have done more with less at quarterback.
