Russell Wilson’s journey with the Pittsburgh Steelers has been interesting, to say the least. He’s yet to play a game with the Steelers, even though he’s still listed as the starting quarterback. A calf injury has really derailed the start of his tenure, but it looks like he’s finally healthy. Justin Fields has played well as the starter in Wilson’s place, but it seems he hasn’t locked the job up. Former NFL head coach Tony Dungy believes Wilson will be named the starter sooner rather than later.
“If you’d been with me at the Thursday practice, Russell [Wilson]’s trying to work his way back in. He’s running the scout team,” Dungy said Wednesday on Football Night in America. “If you didn’t know it, you’d have thought he had the first receivers against the scout team defense.
“He threw some balls against the Steelers [first-string defense] that just were right on point. When you saw the guys react to him and shake their heads in admiration, I’m thinking, when this guy gets back in there, he’s gonna give them a lift of confidence.”
Dungy was out watching some of the Steelers’ practices last week in preparation for their game on Sunday night, and it sounds like he liked what he saw from Wilson. Over the first few weeks of the season, it seemed like Fields would keep a hold on the starting job, but back-to-back losses have muddied the situation slightly.
It’s also not like Fields has played poorly. He had a tough game against the Dallas Cowboys, but it wasn’t terrible. He really hasn’t had one awful outing, but he also hasn’t been amazing. If the Steelers make a change, it would probably be more about trying to jumpstart their stagnant offense.
Whether or not that would work is an entirely separate conversation. Dungy’s comments make it seem like Wilson was extremely sharp in practice last week, which could indicate that he intends to be the starter again. Considering how much of a competitor Wilson is, that isn’t surprising. This isn’t the first quarterback battle he’s been involved in.
During that same episode, Dungy spoke more about when he believes Wilson could play.
“I think it really depends on his health, and he told us that he felt pretty good like he was back and ready to go. If he gets a full-speed week of practice, I would not be surprised if we see him this week.”
Wilson did practice fully on Wednesday, so he might have a full work week. It still feels unlikely for him to start this week, but he could very easily be the backup quarterback. That would be a step up from being the emergency option at quarterback.
Dungy also has a very close relationship with Mike Tomlin, so perhaps he has some specific insight into this situation. It’s been rumored that Tomlin wants Wilson to be the starting quarterback, and that could be proven true in the coming weeks.
Whether that’s true or not, it looks like this saga is coming to a conclusion. For weeks, everyone has wondered what the Steelers would do at quarterback once Wilson was healthy. Now, it seems like decision time is quickly approaching. Fields may have one final chance to prove he should keep the job against the Las Vegas Raiders this week.
This situation will likely persist throughout the year, though. Any time the offense sputters, questions will be raised about whether a change should be made at quarterback. The Steelers need to be better on offense, though, and Dungy makes it seem like Wilson could be the answer. If that is the case, then he should be the starter.
