Dating back to when both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields were added to the roster in March, there has been a lot of chatter about the possibility of a fractured locker room. Talking heads around the media have been warning about the dangers of a fractured locker room for months. If there were a time that was going to start happening, it would be now with Russell Wilson replacing Justin Fields as the starter while the team is 4-2.
Former Steelers CB Bryant McFadden was asked about the possibility of a locker room divide on CBS Sports HQ on Saturday.
“Not initially. I think guys respect coach [Mike] T. as a head coach. They follow his leadership as well and they know that he puts them in the best position to be successful,” McFadden said. “But I will say this, the humanly part of all of us, what happens the first sack or the second sack with Russell in the pocket. As players, we sit on the sideline as defenders, ‘Hey, Justin would’ve made him miss. Justin would’ve come outta that.’
With how active the team leadership was in recruiting Wilson to the Steelers in the first place, I don’t foresee there being any significant divide right away. But it is interesting to hear a player’s perspective on this. If things start to go wrong, you can’t help comparing the skill sets and start to wonder if the team was better off with Fields.
It will obviously be Wilson’s job to make sure that isn’t something that creeps into the mind of the team. It also falls on Mike Tomlin and the team captains to be consistent with messaging and mind set.
I don’t know that I would go as far as saying it was overtly anti- Russell Wilson, but Najee Harris was asked about what the offense gains with Wilson, and he spent two minutes talking about how good Fields was and how great of a start the team has had. I think Fields has plenty of support in the locker room, including some of the coaching staff. With the way he played and how he has conducted himself throughout the entire process, he should have support.
But Tomlin has higher aspirations for the offense to be great, and not just good. He has apparently deemed Wilson being part of the solution in that. It is a big gamble, and one that could end up having negative repercussions down the road, but they had to at least see what they have in Wilson before the gauntlet at the end of the season.
This could get even more compelling next month when the in-season version of Hard Knocks starts and the Steelers’ QB situation is front and center with a behind-the-scenes look.
