The debate over the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback reached a fever pitch this week. The Steelers lost a heartbreaker to the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday night/Monday morning. And then Russell Wilson was a full participant in practice Wednesday for the first time since before the season. So does that mean Justin Fields’ tenure as the starting quarterback of the Steelers is over?
Well, it depends on who you ask. There are those who say Wilson should be the starter as soon as he’s healthy. They point to his veteran presence, Super Bowl experience, and the fact that head coach Mike Tomlin named him the starting quarterback ahead of the season. Ray Fittipaldo said this is “the perfect spot” to switch to Wilson.
But there are those who think that Fields has done enough to remain the starter. That the issues with the low-scoring offense go well beyond who lines up under center.
“You can’t take Justin Fields off the field right now,” former NFL DB Jason McCourty said on First Take Thursday morning. “You look at the progression he’s made. And we’ve said it, week after week, he’s gotten better. I think there are bigger issues on the offensive side of the ball. We talk about them and the receivers. Who’s the one guy we talk about? George Pickens. He’s the guy that has an elite level of route running and playmaking ability down the field. Well, among your three wide receivers, he played the least amount on Sunday night football. That’s crazy to me. Van Jefferson played more, and Calvin Austin [III] played more. He only was on the field for 59% of the offensive snaps. So what else is going on, on the offensive side of the ball?”
McCourty isn’t the only member of the First Take crew who’s got concerns with the Steelers’ offense outside of the quarterback spot. Dan Orlovsky agrees that Pickens has been an issue and wants to see more production out of him. But he sees another area of concern where Fields is better suited to help with than Wilson.
“The offensive line’s getting covered up a little bit by Justin,” Orlovsky said. “The offensive line is not playing well. They’ve got some backups on the field. The right tackle has not performed up to the expectations.”
Both issues are massive ones. The Steelers wanted to address their wide receiver position during the offseason by trading for San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk. That never happened. So now they’re looking at a potential in-season trade for Las Vegas Raiders WR Davante Adams. Adding a bona fide top-tier wide receiver would do wonders for some of the problems in the passing game.
But the issue Orlovsky brings up isn’t something as easily addressed. The offensive line has been in a constant state of flux this season. LG Isaac Seumalo finally started last Sunday against the Cowboys after missing the first four games. RG James Daniels suffered a season-ending Achilles injury against the Indianapolis Colts. Rookie OT Troy Fautanu suffered a season-ending knee injury prior to the Steelers’ Week 3 game. That’s led to shuffling all along the offensive line and the results haven’t been pretty.
OT Broderick Jones has given up four sacks, per Pro Football Focus. And when Wilson started the second preseason game, he was sacked three times. Fields has already been sacked 13 times through five games. And at this point in their respective careers, Fields has a much better chance at escaping pressure than Wilson.
So the Steelers need to figure out how to improve their passing game both in terms of their weapons and their offensive line. And switching to Wilson isn’t going to suddenly make everything better.
