Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin never outright named a starting quarterback for Sunday in his weekly press conference. He did say Russell Wilson was “in consideration” to start and that a decision would come later in the week. However, NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reported that Wilson, who Tomlin did confirm would receive some first-team snaps, is “in-line” to start, and the general sense coming out of his weekly press conference was that Wilson would get the nod over Justin Fields in Week 7 against the New York Jets.
“I’m a little bit skeptical, given everything I’ve heard over the past month and a half about how the staff there is happy with Fields’ progress and the way he has grown as the season’s gone along,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano wrote in a weekly news and notes column. “He has executed their game plans, avoided turnovers and won games. It’s clear he still needs refining as a thrower, and that might be why Tomlin harbors some curiosity about what the offense would look like with Wilson in there. But anything Wilson might potentially be able to add with his arm would come at the cost of Fields’ legs, which have been a weapon for the Steelers in the run game.”
Graziano wrote that if Wilson starts, the Steelers will likely have plays for Fields.
“Even if Wilson starts, I’m willing to bet the Steelers have a package of plays for Fields, as was their Week 1 plan before Wilson got hurt. We’ll see how the week goes, and I may be the last one to jump on the train here, but I still think there’s a non-zero chance this is Fields’ job, and he doesn’t give it back.”
The idea that Pittsburgh could play both Fields and Wilson isn’t outlandish given the idea before the season was that Fields would have a package, and Tomlin said Tuesday that there’s a scenario in which both play against the Jets. Fields has done his job well, and his legs have been a major asset, especially with Pittsburgh’s offensive line banged up and being inconsistent at times. Tomlin admitted that Wilson doesn’t have the same obility as Fields, and that it could potentially change Pittsburgh’s offense.
But it’s not as if Fields has been flawless, and now is a sensible time to make the change. Fields has struggled a bit the last two weeks with his accuracy and Wilson can certainly elevate Pittsburgh’s ceiling as a thrower. With two games before the bye week, the Steelers can evaluate if they think Wilson is truly an upgrade at the position. If they decide they prefer what Fields offered, they can go back to him after the bye week.
While flip-flopping quarterbacks isn’t ideal, I’m sure if Tomlin does start Wilson this week, then the hope is that he holds the job for the remainder of the season. But the reality is that the timing allows the Steelers to go back to Fields if Wilson does struggle. I would agree that continuing to start Fields makes a lot of sense, but it’s clear the Steelers want to see what they have in Wilson. After all, the original plan when they signed him was for him to be the starter and Kenny Pickett the backup, and Fields wasn’t in the cards at that point.
It’s going to be an interesting week as Tomlin makes the final decision on who will start, and an interesting two weeks to see if the Steelers can take care of business before their bye week.
