With Russell Wilson returning as a full participant in practice this week, saying he is ready to go, the pressure is ramping up on Justin Fields to defend his starting job. There is a decent chance that Wilson is active Sunday in Las Vegas, which means Fields could be a bad play or two, or another slow first half, away from getting pulled in favor of Wilson.
Not everybody is thinking that way. Some don’t think Fields’ job should be at risk at all. Former league MVP Cam Newton can be counted firmly among that group.
“Honestly, use Russell Wilson as trade value,” Newton said Friday during his debut on ESPN’s First Take. “The fact that the Miami Dolphins haven’t reached out to Pittsburgh is beyond me, especially with that specific situation at this particular point in time. I think we’ve seen enough in Pittsburgh to really crown Justin Fields, and they’ve said it without really saying it. The whole morale of the team, guys are fighting for him. They’re playing for him. And I don’t know, it’s probably in too deep for Russell Wilson at the end of the day.”
One of the big things the Steelers needed from their quarterback this year, other than his actual play on the field, was the ability to lead the young group. To Fields’ credit, it does seem like his teammates have rallied around him. A 3-0 start to the season usually helps matters, but now the Steelers are on the verge of a three-game losing streak. We are already starting to see the offense come apart at the seams.
After the three-game win streak to start the season, there was some chatter about the quality of the Steelers’ opponents. But through five weeks, the Atlanta Falcons are 3-2, the Denver Broncos are 3-2, and the Los Angeles Chargers are 2-2.
Newton pointed out, “They have some quality wins.”
The formula was working over the first three weeks of the season, but it has started to fall apart. The offensive line injuries piled up, the running game stopped functioning properly, and the defense started to give up more points with injury issues of its own. Under those conditions, Fields hasn’t been able to elevate the group to overcome the issues.
Trading Russell Wilson could make a lot of sense, but the Steelers have to find a willing trade partner. The Miami Dolphins or the Las Vegas Raiders would seem like the two most logical destinations, but I haven’t heard a peep about it from any notable insiders other than pure speculation. Wilson would be a very cheap add if a team acquired him.
With Fields 25 years old, and way more likely to be the future of the franchise, I would at least consider a trade involving Wilson under the right circumstances. Wilson has a no-trade clause, so he would have to agree to the deal as well.
I still really want to see him operate the offense in at least one regular-season game, and I think Mike Tomlin and the Steelers do, too.
